Veteran catcher has a May 1 opt-out in his minor league contract with the Red Sox. Hell pa s on that chance to return to the open market and remain in the organization despite not being selected to the big league roster today, . Hell remain in Triple-A as a depth option for Boston, at least for the time being. Grandal is out to a nice start in his brief time with the organization. back on April 10, the 36-year-old has appeared in seven games and gone 6-for-24 with three doubles and a homer in 29 plate appearances. Thats a .250/.379/.500 batting line, which could put him in line for a big league look sooner than later, even if he wont be called up immediately. Cotillo adds that the Red Sox are expected to be amenable to granting Grandal his release if a big league opportunity presents itself elsewhere. The switch-hitting Grandal has been a consistent presence in the big leagues dating back to his 2012 debut. He spent the 2024 campaign with the Pirates his fifth MLB club and enjoyed a nice season in a part-time role. Appearing in 72 games and tallying 243 plate appearances, Grandal slashed .228/.304/.400 with nine home runs, a 9.9% walk rate, an 18.9% strikeout rate and his customary brand of framing-focused defense behind the plate. He only thwarted six of 72 stolen base attempts against him (8.3%), but he was excellent at manipulating the strike zone and drew positive grades for his ability to block balls in the dirt. The Red Sox lost starting catcher to Gavin Sheets Jersey a broken finger early in April. That left them with the inexperienced tandem of and behind the plate. , their most experienced option in Triple-A prior to signing Grandal, hit the minor league injured list with an oblique strain in mid-April as well. The subsequent results behind the plate have not been pretty. Narvaez is hitting .218/.274/.385 (81 wRC+) in 84 plate appearances. Sabol is hitting .125/.167/.188, albeit in only 18 plate appearances. Sabol has been used as a true backup to Narvaez, in part because of concerns regarding his glovework. Hes just 1-for-21 in throwing out runners in the majors dating back to 2024 (1-for-11 this season). Narvaez opened the year with similar struggles, but hes quieted some of the throwing concerns by following up a 1-for-8 start to catch four of the past nine runners whove taken off against him. With or without Grandal, the Sox should have help on the horizon. Wong began a minor league rehab a signment in Triple-A on Sunday and has now appeared in two games. Hell presumably need several more before hes cleared to return, but it seems as though he might only end up mi sing around a month (or perhaps a slight bit more) in total with the injury. The 28-year-old Wong slogged through an ugly start to the season, hitting just .087/.192/.087 in 26 plate appearances (2-for-23), but he hit .280/.333/.425 as Bostons primary catcher in 2024. Thats the only season of Wongs young career in which hes delivered above-average offense or even just average offense over any meaningful sample. Hell need to prove that wasnt a fluke, but hes the best option for the Red Sox for the foreseeable future. If Wong cant get back to something close to that 2024 form, its easy to envision the Red Sox seeking catching help at this summers trade deadline. After trading in the offseason blockbuster, is the only catcher among Bostons top 30 prospects at Baseball America or MLB.com. Hes 20 years old and has yet to play above A-ball. Jeff Keppinger Jersey