Mickey Gasper has become the latest former Yankee to carve out a place in Boston, and he’s doing it in a way that fits the Red Sox-Yankees storyline perfectly.
That list already has some familiar names. Garrett Whitlock, Rob Refsnyder, Aroldis Chapman, and Jahmai Jones have all spent recent seasons turning into useful pieces for the Red Sox after first belonging to New York. Gasper now belongs in that group, too, thanks to a blistering stretch since his return to the majors in mid-August.
After spending two months in Triple-A Worcester, Gasper came back up and immediately started hitting like nobody in the league could slow him down. Over that run, he posted a 245 wRC+ and a 1.290 OPS, both of which led the league during that span.
In just 76 plate appearances, he piled up 12 extra-base hits. He also drew 16 walks while striking out only eight times, which helped him reach base at a 48% clip.
For a player with Gasper’s path, those numbers land even harder. He was a 27th-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2018, taken No. 817 overall, and spent five years grinding through the system. Then Boston grabbed him in the minor-league portion of the 2023 Rule 5 draft.
The Red Sox later traded him to the Nationals for Jovani Morán before the 2025 season, but they didn’t let him get away for long. Boston claimed him off waivers just a year later, bringing the mustachioed slugger back into the organization.
His production has cooled some since that outrageous burst, which was bound to happen. Still, the Red Sox have another Yankees castoff giving them useful depth, and with a Wild Card round matchup against New York seeming likely, that adds one more layer to the rivalry.
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The timing could work out well for the Red Sox, who are hoping to get him back as soon as next weekend against the Rays. If that holds, Rafaela would have roughly nine games to get back to full speed before the postseason begins, giving Boston a chance to reintroduce one of its most important defenders and athletes before October pressure arrives. [Read more 🡒]
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Red Sox May Need A New October Weapon Off The Bench
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Braiden Ward has surfaced as a possible answer, and his appeal is obvious for a team looking for a late-inning edge. The Triple-A outfielder has made his name with speed and base-running ability, including a record-breaking stolen-base total, which makes him the kind of player who can alter a tight playoff game without needing much time to do it. Whether Boston actually turns to that type of weapon off the bench is still the open question. [Read more 🡒]