Red Sox claim Deivy Grullón off waivers

After a trade deadline as clear sellers that saw five veterans traded in four separate trades, the Red Sox have some open spots to fill on the 40-man roster and the 60-man player pool. Chaim Bloom and company have been active on the waiver wire all season, though that’s obviously been largely looking for pitchers. The front office made another claim on Thursday, this time claiming the other half of the battery. They claimed former Phillies catching prospect Deivy Grullón off waivers prior to their series opener against the Blue Jays.

The catcher does have a little bit of major-league experience, having gotten a quick cup of coffee with the Phillies last season. It was only four games and nine plate appearances in which he had just a double while striking out twice. That obviously is a sample small enough as to not really matter, but in the minors he’s shown himself to be a very solid hitter, particularly for his position. In Triple-A last season, Grullón hit .281/.354/.496 for a 115 wRC+. That comes a year after putting up a 123 wRC+ at Double-A in 2018. Defensively, he has a strong arm but has graded out very poorly with respect to pitch framing based on Baseball Prospectus’s numbers. He was ranked number 20 on Baseball America’s updated midseason Phillies rankings.

The 24-year-old (he turns 25 in February) will be sent to the alternate site in Pawtucket. He joins a crowded group of catchers down there already featuring Jonathan Lucroy, Juan Centeno, Jett Bandy, Connor Wong and Jhonny Pereda. Grullón does have three options remaining.