Red Sox Retain 28-Year-Old Catcher In Last-Minute Roster Move

Will Ali Sánchez ever get a third plate appearance for the Red Sox?

Sep 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Ali Sanchez against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With less than a week to go in the regular season, the Boston Red Sox retained some emergency catching depth in their latest roster transaction.

Unless Connor Wong or Carlos Narváez gets injured in the final six games, the Red Sox should have their catching tandem set for the postseason.

But in the disaster scenario where one of those two does go down, it will help to have the team's third-string catcher for most of the second half back in the fold.

Ali Sánchez clears waivers, outrighted to Triple-A

Aug 12, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Jovani Moran (47) and catcher Ali Sanchez (18) celebrate after the game against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Before Tuesday's critical series against the Toronto Blue Jays got underway, the Red Sox announced that catcher Ali Sánchez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Worcester.

Sánchez, 28, has had a wild ride since first arriving with the Red Sox on a waiver claim on Aug. 8. He was on the active roster for just over a week, got DFA'd, signed with the New York Mets on a minor-league deal, and was then traded back to Boston on Aug. 31, the day before the deadline to be in an organization to be eligible to play in the postseason.

The backstop got all of two plate appearances in his two stints on the Red Sox's major league roster, and one came against a position player.

Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Sánchez opted not to elect free agency because he maintained his playoff eligibility for the Red Sox by staying in the organization. Cotillo also reported that Sánchez is likely headed to join the team's "stay-ready" group in Fort Myers, as the Triple-A season has concluded,

When Sánchez was hogging a spot on the active roster as the seldom-used third catcher, it was wasteful on the Red Sox's part. There was no reason to carry a player who got one plate appearance in the month of September when everyone else on the roster who wasn't injured had at least 15.

However, keeping the four-year veteran around makes sense, if only for the unlikely scenario in which Sánchez would become the second catcher on the playoff roster over untested Triple-A counterparts like Seby Zavala, Chadwick Tromp, and Nathan Hickey.

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