Red Sox add catcher, shake up bullpen ahead of Houston series

Published On: August 12, 2025

The Red Sox are adding some additional catching depth even though Carlos Narvaez will be back in the starting lineup on Monday.

Boston currently has three catchers after the Red Sox announced that they had added newly acquired catcher Ali Sanchez to their 26-man active roster.

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The Red Sox optioned lefty Chris Murphy and infielder David Hamilton to Triple-A in order to make room on the active roster. They also brought up left-hander Jovani Moran.

In order to free up a 40-man slot for Moran, the team also assigned Nick Burdi, a right-hander in the minor league.

On Friday, as Narvaez was still dealing with knee pain and might have ended up on the injured list, Sanchez was grabbed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. Sanchez had to be added to the active roster within a few days of his acquisition because he has played in 46 major league games throughout portions of four MLB seasons and has used up all of his minor league options.

The simplest course of action once Narvaez was allowed to return would have likely been to option Connor Wong to Triple-A and stick with two catchers, but Wong has been much more effective lately, hitting three doubles in his previous eight games since July 25.

Since finishing his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Moran has pitched well in Triple-A Worcester this season. He last appeared in the major leagues in 2023. After briefly ramping up in the Florida Complex League and High-A, Moran made his WooSox debut and has since tossed 18.1 innings with 26 strikeouts and a 3.44 ERA.

Murphy, who has recently struggled with command and recorded five walks in his last two outings, will be replaced by him.

DH Roman Anthony

3B Alex Bregman

Jarren Duran LF

The Trevor Story SS

RF Wilyer Abreu

Romy Gonzalez, 2B

Abraham Toro, 1B

Rafaela Ceddanne CF

Carlos Narvaez C.

Crochet P. Garrett

When: 8:10 p.m. ET