Red Sox acquire catcher Blake Sabol from Giants
The former Giant will be in competition with Carlos Narvaez for the Red Sox' backup catcher spot to starter Connor Wong.
The Red Sox traded a part of their international bonus pool for Giants catcher Blake Sabol, the team announced on X yesterday.
The #RedSox today acquired C Blake Sabol from the San Francisco Giants, in exchange for international bonus pool space.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) January 15, 2025
To make room on the 40-man roster, Boston designated RHP Chase Shugart for assignment.
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This exchange comes in the midst of the league-wide fight for a top international prospect, right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki.
The international bonus pool is the amount of money each MLB team has allocated for foreign players. Each club has at least $4.75 million, with some teams receiving more for Competitive Balance picks. Despite this, clubs are only allowed to obtain 60 percent of the total amount and trade in $250,000 intervals.
The exact amount that Boston will be giving to San Francisco has not been made public, but the minimum could be two intervals equaling $500,000.
With this deal, the Giants can try to attract Sasaki, who has until Jan. 23 to make his decision.
The Red Sox designated pitcher Chase Shugart to add Sabol as the third catcher to the 40-man roster. The California native will be in competition with Carlos Narvaez — who was traded to Boston Dec. 11, 2024 — for the backup spot to starter Connor Wong, who has been with Boston since 2020.
Sabol was drafted in the seventh round of the MLB Draft in 2019 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He moved to the Giants in 2022.
The 27-year-old has played 121 games in the previous two seasons, where he has accumulated 39 runs and 83 hits, with a .243 batting average.
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