With one of the greatest stories a player can have, Mickey Gasper is on a redemption tour.
As a local New England boy in Merrimack, New Hampshire, he was catching older high school pitchers in a tryout while hitting from both sides of the plate... when he was just 14 years old. This impressed many coaches, and as he got older, he continued to impress.
Mickey Gasper has had a long journey to get here
Gasper played college ball for Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, before getting drafted by his favorite team, the New York Yankees, in the 27th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. However, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the Rule 5 Draft back in December of 2023, and he instantly became a fan favorite.
After six years in the minors, Gasper made his major league debut in 2024, albeit never recording as much as a hit in his eight games (18 at-bats) he played at the major league level. However, he was traded the following offseason to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for lefty reliever Jovani Moran.
In Minnesota, Gasper hit only .158 while hitting two home runs and driving in 11 runs. He was DFA'd in January of the next offseason and was claimed by the Washington Nationals. Shortly after, he was DFA'd by the Nats as well, but the Red Sox came calling once more. They claimed Gasper off waivers, and he started his 2026 in Triple-A Worcester.
But on May 10th, everything changed for good. Gasper was called up for his second official stint with the Red Sox, and since then, he's been absolutely raking at the plate. The now-30-year-old catcher is batting .333 with 18 hits, three doubles, and driving in three runs in 54 at-bats. While his strikeout issues have shown, striking out 13 times already, he's still getting on base almost every game.
Mickey Gasper is running Carlos Narvaez out of town
Gasper's performance is running Carlos Narvaez out of the running as their starting catcher. As long as Gasper keeps this momentum going, Narvaez may have nowhere to go but become a backup. Similar to his and Connor Wong's situation when he emerged just last year, it doesn't look too good on that front for him.
What's bad is that Narvaez is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, leading all of MLB in throwing runners out with 32. Gasper has been average defensively, but his streak with the stick is what's keeping him in the lineup.
For a fan favorite like him, it's hard not to feel bad for Narvaez on that front.
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