Crazy Red Sox Steal! You Won’t Believe Which Catcher with Local Ties Just Joined from the Yankees in a Mind-Blowing Minor-League Twist of the Rule 5 Draft!

In the minor-league phase of Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft, the Red Sox acquired catcher/first baseman Mickey Gasper from the Yankees. He has been designated to Triple-A Worcester.

Gasper, 28, spent the last five seasons in the Yankees organization, initially selected by New York in the 27th round of the 2018 amateur draft from Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. Signing for a modest $5,000 as a senior, the Merrimack, N.H. native began his professional career in the rookie-level Appalachian League in June of that year.

Although not considered a top prospect in the Yankees’ farm system, Gasper played the 2023 season between Double-A Somerset (where he caught Richard Fitts) and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In 52 games with the Patriots, the switch-hitter posted a .269/.388/.423 line with six doubles, six home runs, 24 RBIs, 30 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 26 walks, and 27 strikeouts over 188 plate appearances. With the RailRiders, he had a .191/.295/.265 slash line with two doubles, one homer, four RBIs, seven runs scored, two stolen bases, eight walks, and 16 strikeouts across 22 games spanning 78 plate appearances.

Mickey Gasper hit this one to a galaxy far, far away pic.twitter.com/doqiOWyFRK

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 8, 2023

Defensively, Gasper showcased versatility by playing at four different positions during the past season. As a catcher, the 5-foot-9, 205-pound player threw out three of 30 potential base stealers in 91 innings behind the plate. Additionally, he appeared in 26 games as a first baseman, 16 as a second baseman, and one as a third baseman.

Gasper, who won’t turn 29 until next October, follows the trend of ex-Yankees farmhands joining the Red Sox via the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. He aims to join the ranks of Kaleb Ort and Raynel Espinal as those in that group who made their respective big-league debuts with Boston.

While welcoming Gasper, the Red Sox also bid farewell to several of their players in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday. Notably, Ryan Fitzgerald was selected by the Royals, and other players like Jose Ramirez (White Sox), Johnfrank Salazar (Cardinals), Alexis Hernandez (Blue Jays), Railin Perez (Astros), Ryan Miller (Angels), and Brock Bell (Reds) were picked up by other clubs.