January 21, 2026 5:34 PM PST
The Red Sox have agreed to minor league deals with catcher , . Boston is also in agreement on a minor league deal with utilityman , . Eaton would earn a $780K base salary if selected to the 40-man roster. Both players will be invited to major league spring training. Zavala, a client of Headline Sports Group, spent the 2024 season in the Mariners organization. Seattle acquired him alongside flamethrowing relief prospect in the trade sending to the D-backs. The hope was that Zavala, a terrific defender behind the plate, could hold down the backup job to workhorse catcher . Things didnt pan out that way, however. The 31-year-old Zavala has never hit much, but last years .154/.214/.282 slash (in a tiny sample of 43 plate appearances) was too anemic for the Ms to stomach. Zavala was designated for a signment three different times but opted to stick with the Ms via outright a signment each time. He became a minor league free agent at seasons end. Zavala has appeared in 194 big league games. Hes a career .205/.271/.342 hitter in that time. Hes shown pa sable power for his position and also displayed some pop in the minors, but Zavala has punched out in a staggering 35.9% of his 557 big league plate appearances. That lack of contact leaves him with practically no hope of producing at even an average level. Defensively, its another story. Zavala regularly posts elite framing marks and draws above-average grades for his Trevor Stephan Jersey ability to block pitches in the dirt, per Statcast. He posted a below-average caught stealing rate in 2023 but was within one percentage point of league-average in both 2024 and 2022. The Red Sox currently only have two catchers on the 40-man roster: and . Adding some experienced depth is a sensible endeavor. Eaton, 28 next month, is a client of Gaeta Sports Management. He didnt play in the big leagues this past season but logged 72 games and 178 plate appearances for the Royals from 2022-23. He batted only .201/.266/.283 in that time, but the versatile right-handed hitter has a far better track record in the upper minors. In parts of three seasons in Triple-A Omaha, hes a .261/.320/.455 hitter with 40 homers and 60 steals in 255 games (1060 plate appearances). Eaton has played primarily third base in his profe sional career but has at least 600 innings at each of the three outfield slots in addition to another 350 frames at second base and 60 at shortstop. Statcast credited him with 97th percentile sprint speed in his two big league seasons, measuring him at a blazing 29.6 feet per second. Bostons bench should have some spots up for grabs. Utilityman , another right-handed bat, figures to have one spot locked down, and Gasper does as well for the time being, currently profiling as the backup to Wong. , , and could all be in the mix for spots as well, but they all have minor league options remaining. Eatons versatility could earn him a look in the majors with a big spring or a strong early showing with the Sox Triple-A affiliate in Worcester. Toby Harrah Jersey
The Red Sox have agreed to minor league deals with catcher , . Boston is also in agreement on a minor league deal with utilityman , . Eaton would earn a $780K base salary if selected to the 40-man roster. Both players will be invited to major league spring training. Zavala, a client of Headline Sports Group, spent the 2024 season in the Mariners organization. Seattle acquired him alongside flamethrowing relief prospect in the trade sending to the D-backs. The hope was that Zavala, a terrific defender behind the plate, could hold down the backup job to workhorse catcher . Things didnt pan out that way, however. The 31-year-old Zavala has never hit much, but last years .154/.214/.282 slash (in a tiny sample of 43 plate appearances) was too anemic for the Ms to stomach. Zavala was designated for a signment three different times but opted to stick with the Ms via outright a signment each time. He became a minor league free agent at seasons end. Zavala has appeared in 194 big league games. Hes a career .205/.271/.342 hitter in that time. Hes shown pa sable power for his position and also displayed some pop in the minors, but Zavala has punched out in a staggering 35.9% of his 557 big league plate appearances. That lack of contact leaves him with practically no hope of producing at even an average level. Defensively, its another story. Zavala regularly posts elite framing marks and draws above-average grades for his Trevor Stephan Jersey ability to block pitches in the dirt, per Statcast. He posted a below-average caught stealing rate in 2023 but was within one percentage point of league-average in both 2024 and 2022. The Red Sox currently only have two catchers on the 40-man roster: and . Adding some experienced depth is a sensible endeavor. Eaton, 28 next month, is a client of Gaeta Sports Management. He didnt play in the big leagues this past season but logged 72 games and 178 plate appearances for the Royals from 2022-23. He batted only .201/.266/.283 in that time, but the versatile right-handed hitter has a far better track record in the upper minors. In parts of three seasons in Triple-A Omaha, hes a .261/.320/.455 hitter with 40 homers and 60 steals in 255 games (1060 plate appearances). Eaton has played primarily third base in his profe sional career but has at least 600 innings at each of the three outfield slots in addition to another 350 frames at second base and 60 at shortstop. Statcast credited him with 97th percentile sprint speed in his two big league seasons, measuring him at a blazing 29.6 feet per second. Bostons bench should have some spots up for grabs. Utilityman , another right-handed bat, figures to have one spot locked down, and Gasper does as well for the time being, currently profiling as the backup to Wong. , , and could all be in the mix for spots as well, but they all have minor league options remaining. Eatons versatility could earn him a look in the majors with a big spring or a strong early showing with the Sox Triple-A affiliate in Worcester. Toby Harrah Jersey