Blake

Sabol

Sabol is heading to the minors with Connor Wong activated off the injured list. The 27-year-old will be back up if Boston needs depth behind the plate.

Organizationally, the Red Sox have seen their catching depth take a hit with Connor Wong shelved due to a broken finger. Grandal did not participate in spring training with any team, so it’s going to take him a while to ramp up before he’ll be an option to help out at the major league level. In the meantime, Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol will share the load behind the plate for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox are opting for Sabol’s bat over Seby Zavala’s superior glove with Connor Wong out. Sabol, 27, hit .243/.313/.392 in 382 plate appearances with the Giants the last two seasons. He’ll share time behind the plate with Carlos Narvaez for the next few weeks.

It’s a significant loss for the Red Sox pitching staff more than anything else as the bulk of the catching duties will go to Carlos Narváez with Wong heading to the injured list. The 28-year-old backstop suffered the injury when he was struck on the glove hand by George Springer’s first-inning swing during Monday’s series opener. There is no timetable for his return at the moment, but fantasy managers should expect him to miss at least a couple weeks. It’ll likely be Blake Sabol coming up from Triple-A Worcester to take his spot on Boston’s active roster.

Sabol will likely be with Triple-A Pawtucket to open the season. With the 27-year-old in the minors, Connor Wong and Carlos Narvaez will be the catchers to open the season for Boston.

Sabol was designated for assignment by San Francisco after they signed Justin Verlander on Saturday. The 27-year-old backstop can handle things behind the plate, but also is capable of playing in the outfield. That versatility gives him a good chance to make Boston after spring training, but it’s far from a lock.

The move is necessary after the Giants signed Justin Verlander and needed room on the 40-man roster. Sabol, 27, should see interest on the waiver wire as a player who can play in the outfield as well as catch, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was claimed or if the Giants were able to work out a trade for the backup backstop.

Sabol was brought up over the weekend, but the Giants have decided to change course and no longer will carry three catchers on their active roster.

Sabol will give the Giants a third backstop and also a bat off the bench while he’s with the team, as San Francisco is promoting the 26-year-old as one of their two new additions with rosters officially expanding.

Sabol was up briefly for San Francisco earlier this week as extra catching depth at the trade deadline and will head back to the minors prior to Friday’s series opener against the Reds.