Hours before the All-Star break and in the throes of a 10-game winning streak, the Boston Red Sox made a trade to free up some space on their Triple-A roster.
The Red Sox on Sunday traded backup catcher Blake Sabol to the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations. Boston designated Sabol for assignment on June 1 and outrighted him to Worcester days later, so trading him to Chicago didn't open a 40-man roster spot.
The deal did, however, open a roster spot in Triple-A. Sabol wasn't putting it to great use, with a .167/.281/.299 slash line and 51 strikeouts over 43 games. The 27-year-old briefly appeared with the Red Sox in the majors this year, but wouldn't be asked back unless out of desperation. Sabol posted two hits and seven strikeouts in eight games.
Connor Wong, one of the Sox's two big league catchers, is also struggling this year (which may be an understatement). Wong is batting .149/.235/.149 with just eight hits and one RBI over 34 games this year. Carlos Narváez has taken over as Boston's primary catcher, and it isn't hard to see why.
Wong posted a breakout season in 2024, with a .280/.333/.425 slash line, 24 doubles, a triple and 13 homers over 126 games. The Red Sox initially planned to use him as their starter this year, but an early injury and Narváez's breakout derailed their expectations. Now, Wong is more of an automatic out than anyone in the lineup.
Red Sox could seek to replace Connor Wong at trade deadline after weekend Blake Sabol trade
Freeing up Sabol's spot in the WooSox lineup could allow the Red Sox to send Wong down to take his place and bolster the major league roster with another capable catcher before the trade deadline. Few catchers have garnered any rumors so far, though.
The Braves' Sean Murphy and the A's Shea Langeliers are among the few catchers mentioned in potential deadline trades, but Murphy is under contract until after the 2029 season and Langeliers is on a team-friendly deal until after 2028. The Red Sox would have to pay quite a price for either backstop, which may not be feasible with the team's other needs, such as starting pitching and a power bat.
Narváez plays so often that Wong's stalling bat hasn't been a massive problem for the Red Sox — when their lineup was shorter, sans Masataka Yoshida, Roman Anthony and Alex Bregman, it was another story. But moving Sabol could foreshadow plans to bolster the catching unit, and it should be something the Sox seriously consider with Wong struggling the way he has for the entire first half.