The Red Sox have agreed to minor league deals with catcher Seby Zavala, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Boston is also in agreement on a minor league deal with utilityman Nate Eaton, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Eaton would earn a $780K base salary if selected to the 40-man roster. Both players will be invited to major league spring training.
Zavala, a client of Headline Sports Group, spent the 2024 season in the Mariners organization. Seattle acquired him alongside flamethrowing relief prospect Carlos Vargas in the trade sending Eugenio Suarez to the D-backs. The hope was that Zavala, a terrific defender behind the plate, could hold down the backup job to workhorse catcher Cal Raleigh.
Things didn’t pan out that way, however. The 31-year-old Zavala has never hit much, but last year’s .154/.214/.282 slash (in a tiny sample of 43 plate appearances) was too anemic for the M’s to stomach. Zavala was designated for assignment three different times but opted to stick with the M’s via outright assignment each time. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end.
Zavala has appeared in 194 big league games. He’s a career .205/.271/.342 hitter in that time. He’s shown passable power for his position and also displayed some pop in the minors, but Zavala has punched out in a staggering 35.9% of his 557 big league plate appearances. That lack of contact leaves him with practically no hope of producing at even an average level.
Defensively, it’s another story. Zavala regularly posts elite framing marks and draws above-average grades for his ability to block pitches in the dirt, per Statcast. He posted a below-average caught stealing rate in 2023 but was within one percentage point of league-average in both 2024 and 2022. The Red Sox currently only have two catchers on the 40-man roster: Connor Wong and Mickey Gasper. Adding some experienced depth is a sensible endeavor.
Eaton, 28 next month, is a client of Gaeta Sports Management. He didn’t play in the big leagues this past season but logged 72 games and 178 plate appearances for the Royals from 2022-23. He batted only .201/.266/.283 in that time, but the versatile right-handed hitter has a far better track record in the upper minors. In parts of three seasons in Triple-A Omaha, he’s a .261/.320/.455 hitter with 40 homers and 60 steals in 255 games (1060 plate appearances).
Eaton has played primarily third base in his professional career but has at least 600 innings at each of the three outfield slots in addition to another 350 frames at second base and 60 at shortstop. Statcast credited him with 97th percentile sprint speed in his two big league seasons, measuring him at a blazing 29.6 feet per second.
Boston’s bench should have some spots up for grabs. Utilityman Rob Refsnyder, another right-handed bat, figures to have one spot locked down, and Gasper does as well for the time being, currently profiling as the backup to Wong. Romy Gonzalez, Nick Sogard, Enmanuel Valdez and Vaughn Grissom could all be in the mix for spots as well, but they all have minor league options remaining. Eaton’s versatility could earn him a look in the majors with a big spring or a strong early showing with the Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Worcester.
Filling out the AAA roster.
Heard something interesting today…. Boston may have the best farm in the league? Is that correct?
Hey Clipper. Maybe. I haven’t looked at rankings recently. I think they are probably at least top 10. They probably have one of the best sets of position prospects. They were a bit light on pitching prospects, but they have been addressing that.
Yeah, I knew they were…decent. But, possibly tops? Wow, that’s great for the future, man.
top 5ish depending on who you ask. They’re thin on high upside pitching
I think they have a lot. 4 in the top-25, which is hue, as well as the overall #1. And I think they have a fair amount of those #75-150 prospects that become important.
of course, like every other RS post in this thread will say, pitching is lacking. But they seem to devote a lot of their draft allotment to hitting, so that’s to be expected. But they did spend $2M on a #2. That’s their biggest in a while.
Allin – Agreed. Here is the list of the Red Sox minor league free agents which were with mostly with Worcester.
Royman Blanco
Felix Cepeda
Mark Contreras
Bobby Dalbec
Nick Decker
Dalton Guthrie
Brad Keller
Mark Kolozsvary
Elih Marrero
Alex Speas
Jamie Westbrook
These are just a few of the AAA players who will need to be replaced. So commenters do not need to mention duck boats on every AAA player signed to fill out the Worcester roster…. Someone needs to pitch those innings and get those at bats. MLBtraderumors is not just reporting MLB signings. At least half of their posts identities minor league signings and movements.
So commenters do not need to mention duck boats on every AAA player signed
==========================
I find that phenomenon amazing. It’s like RS fans HATE minor league depth signings.
Getting to the minor league invites early
Remember how every one of these Red Sox moves had the “full throttle” comment on it last year?
yes and many do this year. It continues to be insufferable when people do that.
It continues to be insufferable when our front office lies to us about their plans to add sufficient talent to field a competitive baseball team, too.
sure but sarcastically parroting the same thing over and over again doesn’t change that fact.
It’s all we’ve got right now, ace.
hey, they word vomit the same thing to you guys on the east coast as us on the west coast?
Dipoto told us he was going “spend” when the time was right which was like the 21 off-season, cant remember now with all the BS spewing from his mouth.
I think the winter meetings are just the meet up for all the FO’s so they can get their lies straight for the year and if a move is made, that’s just the extra topping on top.
Full Throttle is -so- 2023. This year isn’t it “Raise the Roof”? Or was it “Augment the Ceiling” or some such…? Anyway, new lingo and flair to rally team spirit this offseason.
Dirty, I’m also suspect but let’s see. While I think McGuire was fine as the backup, today’s game requires a top defensive catcher. I really don’t know this guy but if he can control the running game, I’m fine as long as they bring in two righty bats
when our front office lies to us about their plans to add sufficient talent
============================
That was just last year with the idiotic “full throttle” comment. In every other year, they put in a good effort, albeit not always successful. I’m not going to blame them for making moves that don’t always work out.
Dewey: Zavala was an excellent defensive C for the White Sox. He saved most of his offense for one memorable game when he hit 3 (or was it 4?) in one game. Most good teams have one or two players who can’t hit but are good defensively, and the other way around. It’s up to the rest of the team to pick them up.
Forget
Unrealistic
Lavish
Lines.
The
Hierarchy
Recognize
Overall
Team
Troubles
Lowering
Expectations.
Fans
Unruly?
Losers
Lingering?
The
Honest
Realize
Our
Team
Trounces
Loudmouths
Enthusiastically
Thanks for bringing that up. I have to go throw up now,
Do you remember “Bridge year”? Some RS fans used that term for years, even after we won the WS.
Cool. I guess.
Great comment.
Impact signings require impact comments
Redsox should trade from these 40 man roster spot holders. Yoshida, Refsnyder, Gonzales, Valdez, Sogard, Hamilton from the 40 man roster they no longer fit our team roster construction and we’re flush with all of their replacements. Trade from this pool.
Abreu, Valdez & ?? to ChiSox for Crochet & Quero…sounds good to me! Anthony is knocking on the door to be let in.
Then really go “raise the ceiling” & sign Fried
We won’t be trading for a catcher, and I doubt the WS have any intention of trading Quero.
Joe…Wishful thinking on my part.
While at it, I think “raising the ceiling” should include signing Scott & 1 of these guys: Holmes, Estevez or Leclerc for our pen.
That sounds about right,
You make minor league deals when you play like a minor league team.
The Worcester Red Sox are a minor league team. I thought you knew that?
The only way I could currently differentiate between Boston and Worcester is the price of seats and food.
I knew you were trolling us before, but we deserve it. You cant play 11 players at a key position like second base and expect good results either defensively or offensively. Probably eight of those guys were AAAA or straight AAA depth guys, and excusing Conner Wong
oh trolling sounds so meanspirited, I prefer razzing.
I have no dislike for the Red Sox and their fanbase.
You guys are as passionate about your team as we Yankee fans are and it pains me to see where your historic franchise is right now.
I am in it for the entertainment value, and what has ever been more entertaining than when the Red Sox and Yankees are playing at the same high level.
So until that happens again, you got me, that’s not so bad is it ;}
Every team makes minor league deals you simp.
The Red Sox won 81 games (only 13 less than the Yankees) and spent about $100 million less in payroll. I don’t know of any minor league team that can win 81 games if they were added to the majors. If the owners added $100 million worth of high end players it would be a different story. In the end neither team won the World Series. We will see if John Henry and company cough up some more money for 2025.
Mickey needs to take deep breaths when he’s batting and not be such a Gasper.
Man what a year it’s been for this kid from beautiful Cicero Illinois who grew up a Redsox and Dallas cowboys fan in the early 70’s… I get one team going full throttle and the other ALL IN .. both won’t/ didn’t make playoffs but at least one is heading in right direction… So to all my Nation brothers and sisters… when you think John Henry is a bad owner… I submit exhibit A…. Jerry Jones….
I submit exhibit A…. Jerry Jones….
======================
Red Sox and Raider fan here. I think I can top your exhibit A if you want.
But is there anything more enjoyable than watching the sons of somewhat legendary owners taking over the reins of the team?
Wow!! Joe you might the win objection with that one… my buddy is a huge raiders fan… I typed in mark Davis/ Jerry jones… a picture came up of them side by side laughing it up!!!! I said to my buddy.. as long as their happy…great bit of knowledge to know… only 1 nfc team won a SB in the 70’s and only 1 AFC team won the Sb in the 80’s …. Exhibits A & B…..no further questions you’re honor…
The Red Sox won 81 games last year and have a 40 Man full of guys who are in the 27-29yo range and have either 1) not played in the majors yet or 2) have AAAA talent..
If this were a 91 win team then that’s ok, because that means the team at Fenway is getting it done..
Many Sox top prospects do not need to be placed on the 40 man just yet, so explain to me why we would expose even one prospect with the possibility of being lost in the Rule 5 Draft while spots on the 40 man are taken up by Justin Wilson, AAAA players or a 29yo who happened to stumble into 13 games last season?
Am I missing something or seems to me a number of these guys will have to DFA’d if we sign any free agents?
IMO, better roster management would be NOT signing 37yo free agents before the Rule 5
In any case, Breslow needs to get busy shedding some of these guys, because the longer the 40 man stays jammed with the current roster, the further away bringing in real talented MLB’ers gets
It’s a non factor. There are at least 8 other at least 5-8 other guys that can be designated without an issue. I hope they do have to designate at least 5 more that means it was a good off-season.