Red Sox Claim C/INF Mickey Gasper Off Waivers From Nationals

The Boston Red Sox added a versatile depth piece Wednesday when the club claimed catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper off waivers from the Washington Nationals. "The Red Sox today claimed C/INF Mickey Gasper off waivers from the Washington Nationals," the team announcement read, and the move pushes Boston's 40-man roster to 39 players.

Gasper, a 30-year-old Merrimack, New Hampshire native who starred at Bryant, returns to an organization that originally acquired him in the minor-league portion of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft. "It’s a bit of a homecoming for Gasper," one analysis noted, tracing a winter of roster churn that sent him from the Twins to the Nationals and now back to Boston. The DFA carousel this winter began after the Twins designated him for assignment in January, the Nationals claimed him and then DFA'd him nine days later to make room for a separate waiver claim.

On the surface Gasper's numbers tell a split story. His 2025 Triple-A resume with St. Paul was robust: in 47 games he hit .285 (51-for-179) with a .916 OPS, 14 doubles and 10 home runs. At the Major League level, however, he struggled: across 45 big-league games with Minnesota in 2025 he hit .158 with roughly 95 at-bats, two homers, 11 RBI and about a .488–.489 OPS, and his earlier cup of coffee with Boston in 2024 produced 13 games and 18 at-bats without a hit, an 0-for-18 stretch that produced a low .217 OPS. All told he has appeared in 58 MLB games through 2025. One fan comment cited in coverage summarized the concern bluntly: "With a .445 OPS in 133 major league plate appearances to this point, it would be hard for him to lay claim to any playing time unless Boston truly gets desperate."

Beyond the box score, the claim is a pragmatic roster move. Gasper is a switch-hitter who can catch, play first base, second base and even left field, offering the sort of multi-positional utility that clubs prize during a 162-game grind. He also carries minor-league options - one report specifically cites two option years available - meaning Boston can shuttle him between the big-league club and the minors without exposing him to waivers immediately. "Gasper still has options and could be kept in the minors as depth. It’s also possible to see him providing value in a bench role in the big leagues," one analysis said.

For Red Sox fans and Triple-A followers, the move underscores larger industry trends: teams are continuing to mine experienced organizational depth as cost-effective insurance while juggling 40-man logistics after recent trades of Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin opened roster flexibility. Locally, Gasper's New England roots and Bryant pedigree add a regional storyline that can resonate in spring training and minor-league camps. Practically, his fate will hinge on camp performance, injuries ahead of Opening Day and whether Boston decides to convert that flexibility into a bench role or keep him in the minors as the first layer of depth behind Carlos Narváez and Connor Wong. The claim is a small transaction with outsized implications for roster construction, and Gasper's spring will determine whether this homecoming sticks.