Catching depth has been a concern for the Boston Red Sox since they traded their top catching prospect and likely backstop of the future, Kyle Teel, to the White Sox for Garrett Crochet.
An early injury to Connor Wong didn't help matters. Wong was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 8 with a fractured finger, Carlos Narváez was promptly promoted to starting catcher, and the Red Sox summoned Blake Sabol as a backup.
Boston also could've called Seby Zavala to take up the backup spot, but no longer. The veteran was placed on the seven-day injured list with an oblique strain, retroactive to April 14, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
Zavala was the first of the Red Sox's three offseason catching additions to join the team when he signed on Nov. 20. The 31-year-old has appeared in parts of five major league seasons for the White Sox, his longest-tenured club, Diamondbacks and Mariners. He's batted .205/.271/.342 with 15 homers over 194 big league games.
Red Sox catching depth takes another hit at a bad time, Seby Zavala placed on seven-day IL
Another catching depth injury for Red Sox: Seby Zavala placed on 7-day injured list (retro to April 14) with left oblique strain at Worcester.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 15, 2025
Zavala is batting .129/.156/.194 in nine games with two doubles, an RBI and 15 strikeouts. He's rightly known as a defense-first catcher — he posted seven blocks above average, an 87th-percentile metric, and ranked in the 77th percentile in framing during the 2023 season when he played a career-high 73 games in the majors.
The veteran's defensive prowess would be helpful now, as Narváez and Sabol have both incurred catcher's interference calls early in this season. The Red Sox's lineup is also desperate for some changes, and although Zavala's offense hasn't been great, but Narváez and Sabol have worked a combined 0-for-16 stretch at the plate since Wong's injury.
The Red Sox desperately need Narváez and Sabol to stay healthy with Zavala on the shelf. They may have more catching reinforcements coming after signing Yasmani Grandal to a minor league deal on April 10, but the veteran did not have a spring training and will surely take some time to warm up before he can be added to the major league roster.