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Abraham: Pierzynski Signing Allows Bridge To Prospect Christian Vasquez

BOSTON (CBS) - Toucher and Rich spoke with Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe on Tuesday morning after word came out that the Red Sox agreed to a 1-year deal with catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

The Red Sox have a catching prospect down in AAA Pawtucket by the name of Christian Vasquez who is waiting in the wings to be their next big league catcher. The only problem is that he's probably one year away from being MLB ready.

Report: Red Sox Agree To Terms With Catcher A.J. Pierzynski

The Sox already have David Ross behind the plate and under contract, and if they were to extend themselves for free agent Jarrod Saltalamacchia that would really block Vasquez's path to the bigs.

"This deal is really all about Christian Vasquez because Pierzynski has agreed to a one-year contract. This will serve as a kind of a one-year bridge to them making Vasquez their catcher," said Peter Abraham.

"They look at Vasquez as their catcher of the future and this deal allows them to keep that plan in place."

A.J. Pierzynski hasn't had the greatest of reputations during his MLB tenure, often times being called a "bad teammate" and that sort of thing.

People around the league, Abraham included, feel like his poor reputation is overblown.

"From what I've been told a lot of people compare him to Jonny Gomes, a guy who people didn't particularly like until they got him on their team and then felt like he was a pretty good teammate."

Heyman: The Red Sox' Interesting Approach To Free Agents

"Given the way they've gone about roster construction, I don't think the Red Sox would bring in a guy unless they felt he would be okay in the clubhouse. People have said that Pierzynski is not going to be a disruptive guy and that his reputation has been overblown to some degree."

For more Red Sox hot stove talk, including the latest on Jacoby Ellsbury, listen below to hear the full discussion:

Abraham: AJ Pierzynski's Reputation Is Overblown

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