Vazquez insurance: The Red Sox acquire catcher Sandy Leon from the Nationals

By Craig CalcaterraMar 30, 2015, 9:00 AM EDT
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The Washington Nationals have traded catcher Sandy Leon to the Boston Red Sox in a deal first reported by . . . Sandy Leon:

No word yet what the Nats are getting in return. Fact was, however, that Leon was out of options and he wasn’t going to make the Nats with Wilson Ramos and Jose Lobatan there. In Boston, Leon will likely be the backup catcher now that Christian Vazquez’s health is in serious doubt and Ryan Hanigan looks to take over the starting role. Humberto Quintero is still knocking around Sox camp too, so it’s not a sure thing, of course.

Leon hasn’t hit at all in a small number of big league plate appearances. He has done much better in the minors and, his primary calling card — his excellent arm — plays anyplace.

Marlins give Don Mattingly two-year extension

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By Craig CalcaterraSep 20, 2019, 3:55 PM EDT
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The Marlins have announced that they have inked manager Don Mattingly to a two-year contract extensions. There’s a third year in the form of a mutual option.

Mattingly is finishing up the final year of the four-year contract he signed with the Marlins prior to the 2016 season. He’s 272-364 in that period and the club has lost 99 games already this season. The current bad run, however, obviously corresponds with a massive rebuild the team began undertaking following the 2017 season and the team’s change in ownership. Mattingly has not had much to work with over the past two seasons but he has likewise, largely, kept the team on as even a keel as one could hope under the circumstances. He has certainly impressed the Marlins’ brass enough to take the unusual step of keeping on a manager they inherited from a previous ownership and front office group.

In other news, the Marlins also announced a two-year contract extension for shortstop Miguel Rojas valued at $10.25 million. There’s a vesting option for a third year. The deal buys out Rojas’ final year of arbitration eligibility and one year of free agency, plus that option.

Rojas, 30, is hitting .285/.335/.383 (OPS+ 92) this year.