Red Sox Catcher Predictably Elects Free Agency After Discouraging Season

The Boston Red Sox signaled in late July they were ready to move on from Reese McGuire, and the veteran catcher left the organization on his own accord earlier this week.

McGuire elected free agency Monday, according to MLB’s transaction log. The move was an unsurprising one from McGuire, who was designated for assignment by the Red Sox in late July and ultimately outrighted to Triple-A Worcester.

McGuire became the odd-man out in the Red Sox catching group when Boston pulled off a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline to acquire light-hitting catcher Danny Jansen.

McGuire said at the time it was “heartbreaking” to go through that situation after sharing the catching duties with Connor Wong for two-plus seasons.

“At the end of the day, it’s a different reality now,” McGuire told reporters, per The Boston Globe. “Ultimately, for sure, it’s a heartbreaking moment in my career, especially with the clubhouse we had (in the big leagues), the staff we have there. It’s nothing but mutual love for everyone in there. It’s just a tough business.

“There were so many different outcomes that could have happened. We finally landed on kind of the worst-case scenario in a way. As a player you hope that another team trades for you. That window closes, then you hope a team at least claims you on waivers. That window closed. So then it was basically like, you don’t have enough service (to declare free agency and refuse the assignment), so you’re outrighted to this club.”

McGuire will try again to entice another team to pick him up. He batted just .209 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 53 games this season after posting a .267 batting average across 72 games in 2023.

The Red Sox could pair Wong with a different platoon mate next season with McGuire no longer in the picture and Jansen headed for free agency as well. The spot alongside Wong could belong to star-studded prospect Kyle Teel, who worked his way up to Worcester in his first full season of professional baseball this year.

The Red Sox also could look to add another veteran catcher to give Teel more seasoning before calling him up.