Throughout the Boston Red Sox's ascent from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the best, bench and depth players have been critical to their success, answering the call in huge moments. Mickey Gasper has been one of those players over two stints with the Red Sox.
Gasper first came up to Boston in May and slashed .333/.364/.392 that month. He regressed in June, which resulted in an option back to Triple-A. But since he was summoned for the second time on August 16, Gasper has been unfathomably good.
The catcher/designated hitter is slashing .476/.621/1.333 — yes, really — over his eight games with the Red Sox in August. He has 10 hits this month, half of them are home runs and three others are doubles. Two of the homers came on the same night against the Miami Marlins. Before this month, Gasper had two home runs in his entire major league career of 92 games.
Some fans with good memories may recall that the Red Sox traded Gasper before the 2025 season. On December 24, 2024, Boston shipped him to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for reliever Jovani Morán, who has grown into a fixture in the bullpen.
Red Sox traded away red-hot Mickey Gasper before the 2025 season but got him back just in time for his breakout
FOLKS, HE'S DONE IT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/CgzQogtFv8
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 26, 2026
Despite the trade, the Red Sox were lucky enough to get Gasper back all while holding onto Morán. Gasper slashed .158/.257/.232 over 45 games for the Twins in 2025, which was a rough enough showing to get him designated for assignment in January after the season ended. The Washington Nationals on January 20 picked him up off waivers, but he lasted just nine days in the organization before he was DFA'd for the second time in a month.
The Red Sox claimed Gasper from Washington and the rest is history. He's been DFA'd twice this year and optioned back down to the minor leagues after he started struggling in Boston — eight months later, he's in the throes of one of the best seven-game stretches of all time, on the same list as some recognizable baseball characters like Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Manny Ramirez, to name a few.
Many Red Sox fans weren't thrilled to see Gasper return to the Red Sox organization over the winter, or to see him called up a second time this year. But Gasper has become one of the key depth players on this year's Red Sox team, and the fact that they were able to get him back after trading him for a player they still have shows the importance of some of the smaller moves teams make every year.
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