Red Sox Sign Former Rockies, Cardinals Catcher as AAA Insurance

The Boston Red Sox have a new catcher in the organization after making a move on Tuesday.

Feb 25, 2026; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Andrew Knizner against the Kansas City Royals during a spring training game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have a surplus of catchers on the big league roster right now, but they made another move on Tuesday.

Right now, the Red Sox have Carlos Narváez, Connor Wong and Mickey Gasper on the big league roster. Narváez entered the season as the club's starter with Wong as the backup. While this is the case, things have shifted. Narváez has not been able to get his bat going this season. He's slashing .197/.270/.283 with a .553 OPS, two homers and four RBIs in 44 games played. This is a far cry from his great rookie season in 2025. Last year, Narváez slashed .241/.306/.419 with a .726 OPS, 15 homers and 50 RBIs in 118 games played.

Last year, Wong struggled offensively for the Red Sox after dealing with injuries early on. This season, he has been much better and is slashing .256/.344/.354 with a .698 OPS in 31 games. The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey reported that Wong is someone that Boston is shopping. Gasper was promoted to the big leagues and has taken a chunk of the playing time behind the plate because he has been the best of the three offensively. Now, the Red Sox are adding yet another catcher to the organization in the form of seven-year veteran Andrew Knizner, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.

The Red Sox Have A New Catcher In The Organization

Mar 12, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Andrew Knizner (25) calls out the play against the Chicago Cubs in the third inning at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

"Sources: Red Sox have signed veteran catcher Andrew Knizner to a minor league deal," Cotillo wrote. "323 MLB games, mostly with St. Louis. Has been in Rockies system all season and has a .962 OPS at AAA."

Knizner is a career .211 hitter in 323 total games in the majors in seven seasons as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, and the San Francisco Giants. The vast majority of his big league career has been as a member of the Cardinals. Five of his seven big league seasons were in St. Louis. He hasn't played in a big league game yet this season. Knizner has played in 33 games down in the minors this season in the Colorado Rockies' farm system and slashed .279/.371/.590 with a .962 OPS, 10 homers and 22 RBIs in Triple-A.

For Knizner, he's intriguing because he's a seven-year veteran and a right-handed bat. As of right now, it's too early to know if he'll get a shot in the majors with Boston, but he has played well enough in the minors in the Rockies' system to believe he could at some point.

Sending Narváez down to Triple-A wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. He has struggled and could use a reset in an environment with less pressure, like Brayan Bello. If the Red Sox were to trade Wong, that would be another reason to promote Knizner.

All in all, this is a solid move with very little risk.