The Red Sox have sent utility player Blake Sabol outright to Triple-A Worcester, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment a few days ago.
Sabol, 27, was acquired from the Giants in January. He had been designated for assignment by that club but some international bonus pool space was sent from Boston to San Francisco in order to add Sabol to the Red Sox’ roster. That gave the Sox some extra depth at various positions, with Sabol capable of playing catcher, first base and the outfield.
Boston started the year with Connor Wong and Carlos Narváez as their big league catching duo, with Sabol optioned to Worcester. Wong suffered a finger fracture a week into April. That got Sabol up to the majors for close to a month while Wong recovered. However, they didn’t put him in the lineup often, as he only got into eight games and was only sent to the plate 18 times. He struck out seven times, a 38.9% clip, and produced a line of .125/.167/.188.
Sabol was once a nice Rule 5 pickup of the Giants. Going into 2023, he was technically plucked from the Pirates by the Reds, but Cincinnati flipped him to San Francisco for cash. He went on to appear in 110 games for the Giants that year, slashing .235/.301/.394 for a wRC+ of 91 while splitting his time between catcher and left field.
It seemed like he had a path to being a useful utility player but it hasn’t quite panned out that way. He spent most of last year on optional assignment, having a fine-but-unexceptional season. He slashed .246/.340/.388 for a wRC+ of 96 at the Triple-A level and was only called up for 11 big league games. In his 25 Triple-A games this year, he has a .193/.304/.341 line while striking out in a third of his trips to the plate.
The 29 other clubs passed on the chance to grab Sabol off waivers. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to reject the outright assignment. He’ll stick with the Sox as non-roster depth and try to earn his way back to the majors.
Narváez and Wong are the only two catchers on the 40-man so Boston is probably happy that Sabol is sticking around as non-roster depth. Yasmani Grandal was in Triple-A on a minor league deal but it seems like he might be retiring.
Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images
And meanwhile Kyle Teel, who should be at least backing up Narvaez in Boston, is getting called up by the White Sox, while the Red Sox have lost Sabol(DFA and likely FA) and Grandal(retirement) as depth options in the last few days.
I’ll take Crochet over an unproven catcher any day of the week.
Sabol is in Worcester. That’s the whole point of this article, they retained him and sent him outright to Worcester, only difference is he’s off the 40 man roster
Teel is looking good, but Crochet is a 25 year old elite ace who they have locked up for the next six years. And Narvaez looks like a stud. I wouldn’t take that trade back if I was the Sox.
HBan – I respect your opinion, but I would definitely take back that trade if I could.
Meidroth is batting .312 with a .401 OBP and has a 1.6 WAR in just 40 games.
Braden Montgomery is killing it in the minors this year.
Wikelman Gonzalez is looking great in AAA.
I like Narvaez, but let’s see what happens when MLB has a book on him. Way too small sample size.
I like Crochet, but the issue with him has always been durability. It’s a little concerning when he gets pulled after just 85 pitches despite holding a slim lead. Not sure I buy Cora’s ‘it was planned a week ahead of time” excuse, especially with Crochet not knowing about it.
If Skubal goes on the trade block next offseason and the Sox don’t get him because they already traded 4 solid prospects for Crochet, I’ll be pissed.
The trade worked well for both teams. Whats wrong with that?
Red Sox had too much positional depth and needed to reduce the number of prospects and getting an Ace was the perfect way to do it. White Sox also got a great haul. Win, Win.
I don’t understand your gripe. Crochet has been better than advertised. It’s not his fault that he has a subpar supporting cast.
YBC – I think he’s just not happy that Teel was included in the trade, which is the consensus feeling of Red Sox Nation.
Hopefully it turns out the Yankees traded a perennial All-Star to the Red Sox in Narvaez and it makes the loss of Teel much more tolerable ;O)
Can you imagine how awful this team would be without Crochet?
If you’re sad about that trade, you’re the only one. Even if Teel becomes an all star, Crochet already is one.
Not to mention Teel is 23 and Crochet is still just 25 years old.
Ghost – Your first sentence is quite interesting, considering the Red Sox are only 7-6 in Crochet games.
As mentioned above, Red Sox Nation was not and still is not happy with the trade. It has a lot to do with knowing the prospects that were sent, and Crochet’s injury history and lack of a track record.
FPG
You think Sox Nation is unhappy with the trade? I don’t agree with that statement. Yes, I was and still somewhat upset they included Teel,but Crochet is a beast,and should be for the length of his contract. Obviously you cannot measure the trade now. Highly rated catching prospects are so rare,I would have included Mayer or Campbell instead. Maybe they demanded Teel. I would have still done the trade .
Depth at catcher is the least of their concerns. The Sox need to start putting some wins together and play like a team that has the potential to be a contender. At this point, they look to be a team who should be using the trade deadline to stock up on prospects as they try to deal away half the roster including the manager.
Uncle – If the Sox farm system is as stocked as they claim it is, doesn’t that mean it’s time they start cashing in some of those prospect chips for proven MLB players?
The team is already so young with most of the players cost controlled for many years to come, where would they put even more prospects?
I was bummed out the Sox included Teel in the deal. Especially considering the Sox plethora of middle infield prospects as well as expensive veteran T.Story. Did the White Sox demand Teel in the deal? They already have C. (#62NLB) Edgar Quero . Would the Sox have been better off including Mayer or Campbell in the deal? Roman Anthony is untouchable. Having a catching prospect as highly rated as Teel is ,is so rare. Offensively and defensively. That being said , I would still do the deal.