Blake Swihart will be the Opening Day catcher when Boston opens the 2016 season in Cleveland, MLB.com reports.

Swihart will be the Opening Day catcher when Boston opens the 2016 season in Cleveland, MLB.com reports.

Analysis:

Ryan Hanigan will be the backup while Christian Vazquez, coming off Tommy John surgery, is ticketed to start the season at Triple-A Pawtucket. That's the plan as it stands now, just prior to spring training. Swihart was called up to the majors last season, slightly ahead of schedule, and proved himself a competent hitter. There are still parts of the job defensively he needs to work on -- blocking balls is the primary area -- but the Red Sox feel he'll learn that skill with experience and practice. Long term, with two young catchers capable of starting in the majors, in Swihart and Vazquez, one of the two may become trade bait.