Red Sox add former Mariners catcher on minor-league deal | Sporting News

As the Boston Red Sox begin an important offseason, they have a few very clear and obvious needs, including catching depth with just Connor Wong on the MLB roster.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox signed Seby Zavala to a minor-league deal to potentially help with this issue.

Zavala, 31, was a 12th-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in the 2015 MLB draft out of San Diego State.

He made his debut with Chicago in 2019 and was designated for assignment in September 2023.

The Arizona Diamondbacks claimed him off waivers and traded him (along with Carlos Vargas) to the Seattle Mariners for Eugenio Suarez.

In 2024, Zavala appeared in 18 games for Seattle at the MLB level, hitting .154 with a .496 OPS, one home run and two RBIs.

In Triple-A Tacoma, he hit .188 with a .701 OPS, four home runs and 16 RBIs in 33 games.

Wong and top catching prospect Kyle Teel should provide the spark offensively this season, and the latter could grow into a great defensive catcher, but the fielding side of things is where Zavala has been much better.

According to Tyler Milliken , Zavala finished 87th percentile in Blocks Above Average and 77th percentile in framing.

While this could be a solid depth signing, Boston should still be looking for better options.

MORE RED SOX NEWS 5 former Red Sox appear on 2025 MLB Hall of Fame ballot Red Sox protect two top prospects from Rule 5 Draft Red Sox reportedly in contact with top free agent pitcher Incredible Red Sox memorabilia collection of former Boston exec goes to auction.

This article has been shared from the original article on sportingnews, here is the link to the original article:

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/boston-red-sox/news/red-sox-add-former-mariners-catcher-minor-league-deal/7fb9aee97cf0ec18742f18ab