Ex-Red Sox Catcher Designated For Assignment; Reunion Makes Sense

Boston could use a depth option

Scott Neville | Jul 1, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Catcher Designated For Assignment; Reunion Makes Sense /

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A slugger who began the 2023 season with the Boston Red Sox is set to hit the open market after a short stint with the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies designated catcher Jorge Alfaro for assignment Friday night, the team announced.

Alfaro hit .161 with five extra-base hits including a home run, four RBIs and a .575 OPS in just 10 games.

The 30-year-old slugger had much more success in Boston's organization, granted it was at Triple-A Worcester.

Alfaro quickly gained fanfare for his clutch home runs prior to signing with Boston and his stunning resemblance to Jason Momoa. It helped when he showed his offensive prowess both in spring training and with Worcester.

He hit .320 with 21 extra-base hits including six home runs, 30 RBIs and a .886 OPS in 43 games for the WooSox this season.

The Red Sox currently roster Caleb Hamilton as their second catcher due to Reese McGuire's oblique injury.

While the Red Sox love a more experienced backstop to split time with Connor Wong, Alfaro likely will not be the backstop chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom will turn to.

The defense for Boston has been putrid and Alfaro is known for being a below-average defender. It would be fun to toss a power bat at the end of the lineup but the team cannot afford to add a liability behind the plate given their overall defensive struggles.

While the Red Sox need depth behind the plate, Alfaro doesn't seem like a great fit at the moment.

More MLB: Yankees Loosely Linked To Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite As Trade Deadline Target

Published Jul 1, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu