If there’s one position the Red Sox have been perilously thin over the past year, it’s at catcher. Outside of Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong, the club really hasn’t had anyone else waiting in the wings.
But since the offseason began, that has slowly begun to change.
Over the past month the Red Sox have swung three trades that brought minor league catchers into the organization.
The first addition was Ronny Hernandez, who came over from the White Sox in exchange for left-hander Chris Murphy. The second was Luke Heyman, who arrived from the Mariners in exchange for right-hander Alex Hoppe. The last was Adonys Guzman, who was one of three players acquired from the Pirates Thursday night in the Jhostynxon Garcia deal.
None of those three are ready to step into a big league role, but collectively they’ll provide a massive boost to the organization’s catcher depth.
Guzman was a fifth-round pick in this past summer’s draft, selected at a similar point that the Red Sox landed left-hander Connelly Early back in 2023. The 22-year-old only appeared in one game as a professional after being drafted, but this past spring he turned in a terrific season at the University of Arizona, batting .328 with a .907 OPS in 62 games.
According to Baseball America, Guzman’s best asset is his defense, with the outlet describing him as possessing plus arm strength and impressive body control along with the ability to control the running game well.
Heyman, 22, was also drafted this past summer as a 14th round selection out of Florida. The 6-foot-4, 220 pound backstop was projected to go much earlier and possesses plus power, having hit 13 home runs with a .975 OPS in 49 games in his final season at Florida.
Those two effectively add two draft picks to the club’s 2025 haul after the Red Sox surprisingly did not select a catcher, instead focusing on pitchers.
Hernandez, 21, was an international free agent signing out of Venezuela who has spent the past two seasons at the White Sox’s Low-A affiliate. He’s shown virtually no power but has solid contact skills and drew more walks than strikeouts during the 2024 season.
Like Heyman and Guzman, Hernandez has a lot of development ahead of him and likely won’t be ready to impact the big league club for at least a couple of years. But their arrivals will help shore up a long-term organizational weakness, and over time they could provide additional internal options that the club may not have had before.