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Boston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy says that the team is getting what it wants from Mickey Gasper Leading Off, despite slump.
When the Boston Red Sox called up Mickey Gasper on May 10th, it was a feel-good story. A journeyman catcher who came in and was hitting well. Now, a little over a month later, he’s slumping and the Red Sox have turned him into their leadoff hitter.
Gasper hasn’t had a multiple-hit game since May 29th. He hasn’t gotten on base multiple times in a game since June 12th, when he had a walk and a hit. In fact, Gasper is just 6 for 34 in the month of June. Still, interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy thinks he’s getting exactly what he wants from Gasper in the leadoff hole.
“It’s only been a couple of games,” Chad Tracy said. “But it’s exactly what I’ve hoped. The games he’s had there, he’s done a nice job of swinging at strikes, taking balls. The first game was perfect. He walked on four pitches to start the game. We have a man on base and they don’t have an out, and he’s five pitches into the outing.”
Finding a leadoff hitter has been an issue for the Red Sox. In an ideal world, that would either be Roman Anthony or Jarren Duran, but Anthony is injured and Duran is having a down season.
“That doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen like that all the time,” Tracy said. “I also think he’s aggressive in the zone when he needs to, and the ball gets squared up a good bit. So, that’s — that was the hope there that you feel like they may have some spots where if they’re in and out of the zone that you feel like he’s pretty good at laying off of it if it’s not, and it kickstarts the offense. Still like it.”
Gasper was a 27th-round pick back in 2018. The Red Sox initially added him in the Rule 5 draft back in 2023, and he would eventually make his major league debut in 2024. The following winter, Boston traded him to the Minnesota Twins. However, he would be DFA’d in January of 2026 before getting picked up by the Red Sox again.
GettyBoston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy
It’s been a bad season all around for the Boston Red Sox. A major reason for that has been their lack of offense. That’s why when Mickey Gasper came to the majors swinging a hot bat, going 5 for his first 11, it made sense to right the hot hand.
Now, like the vast majority of the Red Sox lineup, Gasper has cooled off.
This season, the Red Sox have scored 279 runs. That’s last in all of MLB. It’s also 10 behind the Texas Rangers, the next lowest AL team. A lack of power is a major reason for that, as Boston has just 59 home runs, which is 29th in MLB, and only one home run away from last place. In terms of OPS, the Red Sox are sitting at .695 as a team, good for 25th in MLB.
A lack of clutch hitting have become a problem, in particular. The Red Sox are 0-31 when trailing by three or more runs in a game. They’re 1-39 when trailing by two or more runs.
Runners in scoring position has been a major issue in their current series against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the first two games of the series, the Red Sox have scored one run. That’s despite 18 runners on base in the first five innings of the two games combined. None of those 18 runners on base scored. In total, they’re 1 for 24 with RISP in the series.
“Sometimes it happens,” Tracy said. “I know that’s not a good answer. Sometimes it happens.”
GettyBoston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez
Carrying three catchers, Mickey Gasper, Carlos Narvaez, and Connor Wong on the roster, the Red Sox are limiting opportunities for each of them. That’s been particularly frustrating for Narvaez, who became the starter a season ago and lost his job to Gasper without much communication.
“It wasn’t expected, I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy,” Narvaez recently told The Athletic. “But I’ve just got to be ready. Last year is last year; whatever happened, happened. It’s a different year, different situation, and I’ve got to be a professional. I’ve got to be ready to play every day no matter what the situation is, just be ready.”
Narvaez has had a bad season offensively, like many Red Sox hitters. He’s hitting .207 with a .576 OPS. At the same time, he remains an excellent defensive catcher, which Gasper simply is not. At catcher, that does matter.
“I haven’t talked with nobody, and nobody has talked with me,” Narvaez said. “But like I said, I get it, I’m a part of the team and I understand what’s going on, but on my end I just have to be ready. No one is telling me anything, if something changed — clearly something changed — but I don’t know, just be ready for the opportunity, and that’s it.”
Based on what Tracy said, it sounds like Gasper is going to continue to get opportunities. Meanwhile, Wong and Narvaez will hope to make the most of whatever chances may come their way.
Dan Morrison After graduating from UMass in 2019, Dan Morrison quickly began a career in sports journalism and digital media. That has seen him work both as a contributing writer at several publications, as well as spending time on the National News Desk at On3. During that time, he has spent the majority of his time covering football, both at the college and NFL levels. Currently residing in Central Florida, his focus with Heavy is on the NFL. More about Dan Morrison
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