Red Sox Demote Slumping Catcher, Place Roman Anthony on 60-Day IL

Romy Gonzalez makes his triumphant return to the Boston Red Sox’s roster after missing the first three months of the regular season.

A series of roster moves had to unfold to make that happen, and the Red Sox officially announced those moves on Sunday afternoon, hours ahead of their series finale with the New York Yankees. Gonzalez was activated in an effort to put some heat on New York starter Carlos Rodón, but someone obviously had to be sent down.

That someone wound up being catcher/first baseman Mickey Gasper, who had struggled mightily of late. Boston also needed to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, because Gonzalez was coming off the 60-day injured list, and sent star outfielder Roman Anthony to the 60-day IL in his place.

What series of moves really showed on Sunday

The Anthony move means virtually nothing, as his injury occurred nearly two full months ago, and his 60-day window will be up next week, which would appear to still be long before he’s actually ready to return. But the fact that the Red Sox were hopeful at first that Anthony would be able to avoid any sort of IL stint, then wound up losing him for a huge chunk of the season, is not a great look.

Carrying three catchers on the roster wasn’t sustainable, and as good as Gasper was when he first got called up, his .486 OPS in 63 plate appearances in the month of June more than justified this move on the Red Sox’s part.

The move makes even more sense when one considers that Gonzalez will likely soak up all of Gasper’s at-bats against left-handed pitching. Against righties, Gasper was competing against Masataka Yoshida for playing time, and the latter couldn’t be optioned and makes $18 million more per year.

Gonzalez was one of the Red Sox’s most important hitters last season, batting .305 with an .826 OPS/130 OPS+ in 96 games. He’s known as a platoon specialist, but had to play against most righties down the stretch as the team fended off injuries on its way to the playoffs.

Ultimately, the moves centered on Gonzalez, but the more juicy headlines were Gasper’s demotion and Anthony’s continued injury woes. In the grand scheme of the season, it will be interesting to see what matters most.

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