Article: Red Sox 2025 Spring Training Newbies: How'd They Get Here?

[Maddie Landis]

Baseball is back! Pitchers and catchers have arrived in Fort Myers. The Red Sox have had one of the strongest offseasons in the American League and acquired several players. Here’s a quick guide to the new faces in the organization.

Baseball is back! Pitchers and catchers have arrived in Fort Myers. The Red Sox have had one of the strongest offseasons in the American League and acquired several players. Here’s a quick guide to the new faces in the organization.

Starting Pitchers

LHP Garrett Crochet

• How they were acquired: On December 11th, 2024, the Red Sox traded Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman Gonzalez to the Chicago White Sox for Garrett Crochet. Alex Cora provided a cheeky physical description of Crochet, "Big dude... Hopefully, Chris doesn’t take it personally, but he looks like Chris Sale, but stronger".
• Likelihood of staying: Crochet is under team control through the 2026 season. Since he joined the team, he’s been the subject of extension talks, but he recently articulated that he wants a full season under his belt before any potential extension.

RHP Walker Buehler

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox signed free agent Walker Buehler to a one-year $21.05 million contract with incentives in December 2024. Buehler earned two World Series rings with the Los Angeles Dodgers and recorded the final out of the 2024 World Series.
• Likelihood of staying: Unless the Red Sox are playing poorly through the trade deadline, Buehler will remain a Red Sox for the season. 

LHP Patrick Sandoval

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox signed free agent Patrick Sandoval to a two-year $18.25 million contract in December 2024. Sandoval previously pitched for the Los Angeles Angels as a reliever before transitioning to a starter. He suffered from a season-ending UCL tear in June 2024 and is expected to return to the major league roster in the second half of the season.
• Likelihood of staying: Sandoval will probably stay with the team for the next two years. Since he’ll be returning from a major surgery, he has little to offer in trade value. 

RHP Yhoiker Fajardo

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox traded Cam Booser to the Chicago White Sox for Yhoiker Fajardo. 
• Likelihood of staying: Fajardo, an 18-year-old pitching prospect, played in the Dominican Summer League last year. He’s a young player with no incentive to rush his development. 

Relief Pitchers

RHP Matt McShane

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox traded Chase Shugart to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Matt McShane. McShane was a 13th-round 2024 draft pick and previously played college baseball for St. Joseph’s University.
• Likelihood of staying: Sox Prospects anticipates McShane will start the season in Low-A. 

LHP Aroldis Chapman

• How they were acquired: Aroldis Chapman signed a one-year $10.75 contract with the Red Sox.
• Likelihood of staying: Chapman is a veteran relief pitcher expected to be one of the core bullpen pieces for the season.

RHP Joe Vogatsky

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox traded Emmanuel Valdez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joe Vogatsky, a former James Madison University relief pitcher. 

• Likelihood of staying: Vogatsky was a late-round 2024 draft pick. He’s another young pitching prospect to bolster the team’s pitching depth - Sox Prospects projects he’ll make his organizational debut with the Single-A Salem Red Sox.

LHP Jovani Morán

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox traded Mickey Gaspar to the Minnesota Twins for Jovani Morán. 

• Likelihood of staying: Morán is a relief pitcher who pitched 91 innings for the Twins in three seasons. He could be a candidate for one of the remaining bullpen spots, but he’ll likely be a depth piece in Triple-A if any relievers come down with an injury. 

Position Players

C Seby Zavala

• How they were acquired: Seby Zavala signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox. He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, and Chicago White Sox.

• Likelihood of staying: Zavala is one of the three catchers the Red Sox acquired after Kyle Teel was traded to the White Sox. He’s another positional depth piece that the Red Sox can turn to in an emergency. 

C Carlos Narváez

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox traded Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and Future Considerations to the New York Yankees for Carlos Narvaez. 

• Likelihood of staying: Narváez had a brief cup of coffee in the majors last season but was blocked by Austin Wells. During spring training, Zavala, Narváez, and Blake Sabol will fight for the backup catcher spot. 

UTL Abraham Toro

• How they were acquired: Abraham Toro signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox.

• Likelihood of staying: Toro is a utility infielder who previously played for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, and most recently, the Athletics. Toro is yet another minor-league depth piece.

C Blake Sabol

• How they were acquired: The Red Sox acquired Blake Sabol from the San Francisco Giants for international bonus pool space.

• Likelihood of staying: Sabol is a catcher and an outfielder, albeit a left-handed hitter. As mentioned, he’s another depth piece for the team and will be battling for the backup catcher position.

2B Alex Bregman

• How they were acquired: Alex Bregman signed with the Red Sox on February 12th, 2025.
• Likelihood of staying: Bregman has two opt-outs in his contract, so he could leave after one season with the Red Sox to sign a higher, long-term deal with another team. 

Craig Breslow’s niche is finding obscure pitching prospects, and it’ll be interesting to follow Fajardo, McShane, Vogatsky, and Morán’s development as they work their way up the Red Sox’s farm system. Farm system depth is just as important as depth on the 40-man roster. Post-Bregman signing, it’s apparent that Breslow found a balance for both. 

Bregman shores up the infield defense and doesn’t put immediate pressure on Kristian Campbell and the other young guys to start producing immediately. Rafael Devers had Xander Bogaerts to mentor him, Dustin Pedroia took Mookie Betts under his wing, and now Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer can turn to Alex Bregman.

Position players will host their first workout on February 17th, and the Red Sox will play their first spring training game against the Northeastern Huskies on February 21st. 

Barring any additional last-minute moves, these are the newcomers. Welcome to the Red Sox! 

 

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