The Boston Red Sox have been busy this Tuesday. They started the day by making room on the 40-man roster with a few DFAs and trades. Then they added prospects David Sandlin, Tyler Uberstine, and Shane Drohan to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.
Now, we’re getting even more trades. The Red Sox sent reliever Chris Murphy to the Chicago White Sox for catching prospect Ronny Hernandez (per Britt Ghiroli). Then they sent pitching prospect Alex Hoppe to the Seattle Mariners for catching prospect Luke Heyman (per Chris Cotillo).
It’s no secret that the Red Sox have been low on catching depth throughout the minor leagues in recent years. They clearly wanted to address that this offseason, and doing so with two moves on the same day sends a message.
Red Sox add catching prospects Ronny Hernandez and Luke Heyman in two separate trades
Ronny Hernandez is a 21-year-old who has spent the last two seasons in Single-A. The right-handed hitter slashed .272/.387/.328 in 2024 and .251/.344/.336 in 2025. He’s driven in 80 runs in 178 games over the two seasons. Hernandez appears to be a good contact hitter with a solid 17.4% K rate. Meanwhile, he can get on base with a fantastic 13.9% BB rate.
Defensively, there’s a lot to like about the Venezuela native. He’s only allowed seven passed balls in over 1,000 innings behind the plate in the last two seasons. Hernandez has been scouted as having a strong arm and great athleticism behind the plate. Don’t be surprised if he starts next season in High-A.
Luke Heyman was a 14th-round pick by the Mariners in the 2025 draft, and he has yet to play minor league baseball.
Heyman slashed .301/.397/.578 with seven doubles, one triple, and 13 home runs at the University of Florida in 2025. The right-handed hitter drove in 44 runs in 49 games. Heyman appeared at catcher in 45 of his games and at first base in two.
The 22-year-old is a massive human (6’4”, 220 lbs) with serious power potential. Heyman should be a nice addition to Boston’s catching prospects pool. It also doesn’t hurt that he grew up a Red Sox fan and is friends with star Roman Anthony.
Boston’s weakest position in affiliated ball last season was catcher. We saw Johanfran Garcia return from injury midway through last season, Gerardo Rodriguez emerged, Jorge Rodriguez is knocking on the door of Single-A, and now they’ve added a good contact hitter with a great defensive profile in Hernandez and a monster power bat in Heyman to the mix.
November 18 was certainly an interesting day. Adding two very different catchers to the minor league system was the perfect way to address a glaring issue.