Having lost Connor Wong to a broken finger, the Red Sox quickly signed veteran Yasmani Grandal to a minor league deal that includes an opt-out just over two weeks into the contract (May 1). They could continue to explore further options behind the plate in the days ahead, writes MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
At present, the Sox are going with rookie Carlos Narvaez and DFA pickup Blake Sabol behind the plate. Narvaez is hitting .212/.297/.303 in 37 plate appearances. Sabol is 0-for-6 since his recall and is a career .239/.308/.386 hitter in the majors. Narvaez has caught just one of eight runners who’ve attempted to steal against him. Sabol, who has a career 11.7% caught-stealing rate, is 0-for-5 in that regard through his first dozen innings behind the plate with the Sox. Wong has been right in line with league average dating back to 2023 (21.1%). Seby Zavala, the organization’s most experienced option beyond the newly signed Grandal, is hitting .129/.156/.194 through 32 Triple-A plate appearances (2-for-31, 15 strikeouts).
When it comes to free agency, there’s not much in the way of unsigned catchers. Grandal was one of very few unsigned players of note. Fellow veteran Yan Gomes also went unsigned this offseason, though it’s not clear he’s even looking to play after being released by the Cubs last June. He didn’t sign with another team for the remainder of the 2024 campaign, either.
Catchers Curt Casali and Chadwick Tromp were both released by the Braves over the past month. Neither has signed with a new team, and both struggled this spring. Casali, a veteran of 11 big league seasons, hasn’t hit much since 2022 and was hitless in 15 spring plate appearances. Tromp hit .147/.171/.176 in 35 spring plate appearances and was hitless in six regular season plate appearances. He has a limited big league track record but did go 5-for-17 in catching base thieves last year (29.4%). Kyle McCann, who hit .236/.318/.371 for the A’s in 157 plate appearances last year, was also released last month and remains unsigned.
Given that lack of free agent options, it’s not a surprise that Cotillo suggests the trade market as an option. Many veterans have upward mobility clauses in their minor league contracts with current teams. Others will have opt-out dates late this month or early next — similar to Grandal — and could be flipped for cash if they’re planning to opt out anyhow. Among the veteran depth options playing with other organizations’ Triple-A affiliates right now are Tucker Barnhart (Rangers), Andrew Knizner (Nationals), Luke Maile (Royals), James McCann (Braves) and Austin Nola (Rockies), just to name a few.
The Red Sox still haven’t provided an exact timetable on Wong’s return from injury. The 28-year-old batted .280/.333/.425 last year in what has been his lone productive season at the MLB level to date. He followed up that breakout showing with a 2-for-23 start to the 2025 season prior to sustaining that fractured finger.
If Wong has any setbacks or struggles with the bat upon returning from a hand injury of some note, it stands to reason that catching help could be a target for Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow this summer. Johanfran Garcia is the only catcher generally considered among the top 30 prospects in Boston’s system after trading Kyle Teel in the Garrett Crochet swap, and Garcia was limited to 14 games in A-ball last year after requiring season-ending knee surgery.
Wong was actually pretty decent in 2023-24, the only two seasons when he’s gotten to play much at all. 3.7 bWAR over those two years. No MVP candidate but a lot of teams would have taken that production from their catchers. My guess is that the Red Sox won’t come close to replacing that level.
Just one more indication that 2025 may not be so wonderful for Boston despite the ballyhooed offseason additions. For crying out loud, the WHITE SOX just took a series from them and outscored them 15-6.
Most of those runs came against a pitcher that shouldn’t be in the league at all.
Last I checked, he’s still pitching for the Red Sox. And it’s not like Boston clobbered the White Sox in the other two games.
He is because they have injuries and Boston’s offense outside of that St Louis game has been non existent.
I think the defense is the problem more than the pitching. Only 2 of the 6 runs Newcomb gave up were earned. The White Sox scored 9 earned runs in 3 games against the Red Sox. 6 runs were unearned. The pitching has been a strength. The defense and not hitting with RISP have been the problems I think. The hitting should improve and hopefully the defense does too.
Tang – Sean has a 3.63 ERA, you can’t go by just Runs when the defense led to many of the runs. He gave up just 2 earned runs against the ChiSox, the Red Sox committed 5 errors that game and should have been charged with 3 more. I think it’s unfair to say he shouldn’t be pitching in the majors, if he were to be released he would be snapped up fast.
It is still April and theyre only 2 games out of first place.
Sky is always falling at mlbtr when it comes to the RedSox.
I’m a confirmed Yankees and Red Sox hater, so I hope the sky does fall or at least droop a little. But Boston has looked almost perfectly mediocre so far. An 8-9 record and a zero run diff. Not panic time but hardly impressive.
Same with the Yankees, but I’m not on Yankees post yapping about it.
It’s early. The problem with Wong is he collapsed both at the plate and in the field the second half. Stamina is a concern given his “non-catcher’s” frame.
I’ve seen a lot of Boston on Extra Innings. Some strengths – Trevor Story?? – and some weaknesses. Basically, they look like a scad of other teams. Might make the postseason, might not. But the fanbase was expecting the Moon and the stars after the offseason.
Same with the Yankees.
Casey – Some casuals here were expecting the moon and stars, as they always do. But Red Sox Nation was quite skeptical.
Look at what the Sox have resorted to put people in Fenway … lots of free tickets, lots of heavily discounted tickets, lots of promotions. It’s embarrassing.
Casey – i had been saying all offseason don’t be surprised if Story has a good season. He was due for a healthy season, he is very strong defensively, and he has a history of getting hot at the plate for brief periods of time.
Dewey – Wouldn’t it be the opposite? Fat older catchers like Vazquez have stamina issues, not young thin ones.
Wonga value during that time is decent because of (I believe) a high and unsustainable BABIP. He grades at or very close to the bottom of most (or all?) defensive catching metrics.
So it’s not like he’s providing a ton of value as a catcher, he would probably provide more value elsewhere (ie super sub).
This is why I was excited for Teel. But Sox C will probably be a black hole for a few years. Only decent FA target would have been Raleigh and he got locked up.
Casey – Please don’t lie.
Wong was statistically the worst catcher in MLB last year (min 700 innings).
Seby Zavala has never hit in the majors. OK glove, but man the available (and soon to be available) options on the waiver wire are about as inspiring as a mouthful of sand. The pitchers don’t hit any more, so the catchers collectively have filled that void and, for the most part, are a hole in most lineups.
James McCann would be my target, although he could be on Atlantas roster soon as Delay would be an easy guy to replace on the 40 man and Baldwin could be optioned back down until injuries pop up.
Swing bigger than that. Take sean murphy. Baldwin looks pretty much ready to go. dosent have much to prove in the minors.
Red Sox send the Braves Garrett Crochet and in return the Braves will send James McCann, Jason Delay plus Bryce Elder to the Red Sox! Would be a great move for Boston. That’s 2 Catchers and a front lying Starter. Problem solved!
Then they shock the baseball world by re-swapping Sale for Grissom.
People are worried about a catchers batting average and can they hit.Most can’tThey call pitches and play defense,then and only then try to hit.Most catchers don’t hit above .230.
I agree, I’ll take a good defensive catcher who can call games and work with pitchers over a guy who at best hits for league average
Yup. We shouldn’t be looking at the offense from that position right now, but the defense needs to be passable
I’m actually more concerned with how Wong got injured and the number of “catcher interference” calls the Sox have had so far this year. Seems like Tek and whoever else is working with the catchers is encouraging them to catch the ball as close to the plate as they can get, leading to these CI calls and potential injury.
Ken – It’s not Tek, it’s the analytics folks as usual. They think it helps with pitch framing.
Why do MLB teams still carry 6–7 toolsy outfielders per system, but only 2–3 catchers capable of framing and hitting at the same time? Because one is easy to develop. The other breaks the model.
Christian Vazquez can be had for a bowl of chowder.
If it’s No Name chowder, I’d rather have the chowder.
The problem with the Sox Catchers isn’t the hitting, it’s all the damn Catcher interference calls they’ve already gotten. I don’t know what the record is but they are definitely going to be chasing it this season at this rate
Rsox – I’d like to know where Team Catcher Interference and Team Batter Interference stats are onilne, I can’t find them anywhere.
Campbell had a batter’s interference call last night.
Same here, which i find strange considering every other statistics you could ever want (and probably a few you don’t) are readily available everywhere
Gentleman, I’m in take a wait and see, the team has basically played in a gale wind two straight series, and the whole team hit poorly. Sabol seems to be in way over his head. So it’s time to figure out the #2 right now. What is poor is giving up SN’s and getting picked off base when you do get on.
Agreed that Sabol needs to go.
Bad – I’ve heard people whine about the cold causing the Sox to lose, but wind? That’s a new one! LOL!!
I’ve also never heard of SN’s???
Grandal will eventually be the number two with Sabol and Narvaez in the minors whenever Wong comes back. If Wong faces a lengthy absence they may have to look for more outside the organization options (James McCann?)
All this talk is why I questioned Boston trading Kyle Teel. I think dealing Anthony would have made more sense. A good, or even decent, catcher is hard to come by.
Early, age, and sample size disclaimers aside, Teel has looked pretty weak in AAA. 154 ABs, 4 HRs, 48 Ks.
and to add on to JoeBrady’s statement. Teel was the least likely to see the big league this year because he needs more time to learn how to manage pitchers and work on his skills behind the plate.
Even if the Sox didn’t trade him, it is unlikely he would have been called up. Sox would still be looking outside for a solution.
Let – They undervalued the importance of quality catching, again believing their analytics are better than everyone else. And they are paying the price for it.
Did the red sox undervalue Teel? Time will tell, but I’m inclined to say yes based purely on the state of quality milb C prospects and how existing talented established starters are signed to longer deals.
BUT, even in a world with Teel, were the red sox woefully underprepared at the C position? Resoundingly yes.
Remember back what, 10 years or so ago it seems the sox had 2 fairly talented catching prospects… they screwed one up by rushing him to MLB just to get the bat in the lineup. You’d not want Teel called up to just repeat that over again
GaSox – I totally agree! And you have a good memory, I do remember talking about Swihart, but now you’ve got me wondering who the other catcher prospect was …. must have been Vaz?
Staying on the subject of catchers, I decided to watch closely when Walker was warming up before yesterday’s game. Interestingly they brought the pitching machine into the bullpen before he started throwing, and Narvaez was practicing his catching. At one point he even threw off his glove, held his arms straight out like he was nailed to the cross, and took a couple pitches right into the chest protector. So I give them credit for at least trying to improve the catching.
Catching is an underappreciated underpaid underdeveloped position in MLB. I get why guys who can hit better prefer to play elsewhere on the field, given both how much harder catching is on the body than any other spot, not to mention pulling quadruple game prep duties – practice your hitting, read up on opposing pitching, then read up on opposing hitters to call pitches, while working with your own pitching staff on their strengths/weaknesses/preferences…
It just feels like across mlb there’s almost always a shortage of really good catchers
GaSox – Agreed, I think the higher velocity and greater movement makes it harder and more demanding as a catcher these days.
And it sure does take a toll. For instance Tek is only 53 and yet he walks like Grandpa Simpson. The knees take the brunt of the wear and tear.
Travis D’Arnaud is sitting on the bench in Anaheim. He’s better than anyone we’ve got right now. Make an offer. Can’t cost much.
Luis Campusano is hitting .395/1.165 in AAA while throwing out 42% of baserunners. No rumors that the Padres are looking to trade him?
Padres will take Arias for him. lol
Wow. Look what happens
When a shzt coach leaves in a shzt starter
How low can the Sox go
Cora needs to go, can’t believe they gave him those extra years.
sheer – That was all John Henry’s doing. Remember, ownership assured Cora’s job was safe before they even hired Breslow.
Breslow is not gonna go against ownership’s wishes.
There is no chemistry what so ever in this team.
Yet another year without
Coras legacy
Can’t hit , can’t pitch and of course can’t field.
Bergman has 4 errors already
So much for a gold glove 3rd baseman.
Yes it’s early, but the results of the 8 games have meaning.
Sox – Last week I said they need to go at least 7-3 in this stretch against Tampa and the ChiSox, two bad teams. Let’s see if they can pull off the 4-game sweep this weekend, they certainly should with the disparity in talent between the two teams.
They should of kept Jansen after trading for him last season. Instead he was signed by the Rays, who obviously are in the same division. He scored a run and drove in a run in last night’s drubbing off the Red Sox by the Rays. With all the moves they made in the offseason, it’s really odd that they didn’t address their lack of organizational depth at Catcher.
Trout – Jansen was statistically the 2nd-worst catcher in MLB last year (min 650 innings). He is not the answer.
Play Gonzalez there. At least he can hit, and the catchers they have, can’t throw anybody out.
So Cora looks inward,says it starts with him. Been saying that all along for many years .
He alone has the Sox displaying bad baseball. Can’t change the fielding with him around Can’t pitch with him around.
So for some reason the Sox can’t hit with him around. Seems when everything goes bad all 3 aspects of the fundamentals of baseball goes bad with him around Can’t pitch
He has bought bad karma to this team with cheating on his resume.
Dam I don’t like him.
Seen many managers over the last 50 years and he rates below Valentine Now that’s saying something.
Sox – It’s no different than corporate America. Cora is like one of those managers that doesn’t know what he’s doing and doesn’t do much, but he makes sure he is liked by senior management and that’s all he needs to keep his job.
If you get a chance, read “Winning Fixes Everything” …. Cora was a really, really horrible person that was about to be fired by the Astros.
Funny thing Fever Sox have finished last for a few seasons with him as manager.
That’s not winning. But they signed the worthless crap to another contract.
What does he have on the Sox brass?
Sox – I think ownership still believes he had a lot to do with the 2018 championship (even though he didn’t) and I also have heard besides the cheating that went on that year which was already confirmed by MLB, there was additional cheating going on which Cora has knowledge and proof that ownership was aware of. Keep in mind ownership had knowledge of the Applegate scandal as well.
Plus ownership strongly feels having a Latino manager is a positive with both the Latino players and the overall perception of the organization.
The team obviously has underperformed again this year, going just 10-10 against teams that currently are 40-47 against everyone else. They really need to win at least 3 games this holiday weekend, because then they are playing 9 straight against teams that don’t have a losing record.
MLB’s investigation of the 2018 Red Sox went on for months and uncovered no evidence of cheating. They admitted this in their report when they said they have a “factual dispute”, “largely have no direct evidence” and “no written record, recording or other contemporaneous evidence of the underlying events”. If there was any evidence, the facts would not be in dispute. The conclusion of cheating “on at least some occasions” was clearly based on speculation as MLB’s investigation failed to document a single occasion of cheating by admission, eye witness or any other means. Reporters have unfortunately focused on the conclusion and not the lack of evidence. This was all very unfair to the Red Sox and Red Sox fans.
Speculation follows Cora everyday for the rest of his life. He is a cheater always be a cheater can’t change that label.
Being so 2018 anyone could’ve managed that Sox team. Just Cora was there and now the brass thinks he has the magic. After the last 4 years shows he has no magic what so ever. We all seen how he manages.
Terrible I would say at the best
Don’t think it’s because of him being Latino. Think more he has the brass by the balls on something
Good to see you know the difference between speculation and proven fact. I’m not a huge fan of Cora. However, it seems unbelievable to say that anyone could have managed a team to a World Series win.
Sox – Great post!! Yes as we all know, a monkey could have managed the 2018 Red Sox to a championship ….so much talent on that team.
Speaking of 2018, it will be good to see 10D back at Fenway this weekend. What an awful trade that was, Cordero and Winck didn’t amount to much.
Come on, Adams. There shouldn’t be a comma before “either.”