Red Sox outright veteran catcher

The Red Sox have assigned catcher Ali Sanchez outright to Triple-A Worcester, according to the transactions tracker on Sanchez’s MLB.com profile page. Sanchez had previously been designated for assignment by the Red Sox earlier this week to make room for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe on the active roster after he recently signed with the club following his release by the Nationals.

Sanchez, 28, signed with the Mets out of Venezuela as an amateur and made his pro debut before the 2014 season. He made it to the majors during the shortened 2020 season and has played in parts of four MLB seasons since then but has just 47 MLB games under his belt in that time as he’s served mostly as a depth catcher while bouncing between Queens, St. Louis, Miami, Tor onto, and Boston at the big league level to go along with stints in the minor league systems of the Tigers, Cubs, and Diamondbacks.

While Sanchez is viewed as an excellent defender, he’s held back by a lackluster offense at the dish. In 132 big league plate appearances, he’s hit just .185/.222/.235 with just five walks and only two extra-base hits. That’s a small sample split up over many years, of course, but even with that context, Sanchez isn’t an impressive hitter. With 334 career games at the Triple-A level, he’s mustered a career slash line of just .269/.340/.399 at the level with less than 100 total extra-base hits. That lack of substantial power, even at the minor league level, will hold him back as a hitter enough that it’s unclear if he’ll ever get a look as more than a depth option in the majors, though his defensive skills are strong enough to make him rather coveted for that minor league depth role.

Perhaps that unlikelihood of greener pastures elsewhere is what led Sanchez to accept an outright assignment, despite having been outrighted multiple times before in his career and therefore having had the opportunity to elect free agency. The Red Sox don’t have much depth behind the dish and currently occupy a playoff spot, so by sticking around at Worcester, Sanchez could force his way back onto the roster during the stretch run or perhaps even for the playoffs if an injury creates an opening in the club’s catching tandem. That tandem is currently occupied by Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong, with Narvaez receiving the lion’s share of playing time amid a standout rookie campaign.