Red Sox Add More Catching Depth In Trade With Giants

Craig Breslow and the Red Sox are adding even more reinforcements behind the plate.

Boston acquired Blake Sabol from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for international pool bonus space, the team announced Wednesday. To make room for Sabol, the Red Sox designated pitcher Chase Shugart for assignment.

Sabol came available when the Giants DFA’d him over the weekend.

The 27-year-old has 382 plate appearances over two big league seasons with the Giants. Most of that came in 2023 when he appeared in 110 games for San Francisco, showing some impressive pop. He hit 13 home runs with 44 RBIs while hitting .234.

Sabol was a highly touted amateur prospect who went to USC where he had decent success. The Pirates drafted him before the Giants scooped him up in the Rule 5 draft in 2022. He’s a decent athlete who could also play the outfield. His best trait is the aforementioned power. Fangraphs gave him a 55 raw power (on the 80 scale) in their write-up for Sabol in 2023.

Going into the day, the only catcher on the Red Sox roster was Connor Wong after trading Reese McGuire last season and seeing Danny Jansen walk in free agency. Boston also traded top catching prospect Kyle Teel as part of the trade that landed pitcher Garrett Crochet. Boston also recently acquired Carlos Narvaez in a trade with the Yankees.