Before making the signing of Ranger Suarez official earlier Wednesday morning, the Red Sox made a trade with the Twins to create a 40-man roster spot for the All-Star left-hander.
In exchange for infielder Tristan Gray, who came over from the Rays for reliever Luis Guerrero in November, Boston acquired minor league catcher/first baseman Nate Baez from Minnesota.
Baez, who turns 25 in May, was originally selected by the Twins in the 12th round (354th overall) of the 2022 draft out of Arizona State. The Arizona native received a $125,000 signing bonus and was not ranked among Minnesota’s top prospects by publications such as Baseball America or MLB Pipeline at the time of Wednesday’s trade.
In 96 games between High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita last season, Baez batted .278/.371/.423 with 17 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 54 RBIs, 56 runs scored, three stolen bases, 45 walks, and 65 strikeouts over 396 total plate appearances. The right-handed hitter reached the Double-A level for the first time via promotion in early June after excelling to the tune of a .331/.457/.453 line in 45 games (184 plate appearances) at High-A to begin the year. From there, however, he slashed just .237/.297/.400 in 51 games (21 plate appearances) for Wichita before being placed on the injured list for the remainder of the campaign on September 7.
Defensively, Baez evenly split his time on the field between catcher and first base with both Cedar Rapids and Wichita in 2025. From behind the plate, the 5-foot-11, 191-pounder (listed height and weight) made 43 starts and threw out 19 of 107 possible base stealers. In 43 additional starts as a first baseman, he committed just one error in 352 chances. He also made nine starts at DH.
Baez becomes the latest minor league catching option the Red Sox have acquired via trade this offseason, joining the likes of Ronny Hernandez, Luke Heyman, and Adonys Guzman. The club also added Raudelis Martinez in the minor league phase of last month’s Rule 5 Draft and signed veteran backstop Jason Delay to a minor league contract in October.
Barring another move, Baez seems likely to begin his first season as a member of the Red Sox organization with Double-A Portland. As was the case with the Twins last year, he can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft if he is not added to the 40-man roster by November’s protection deadline.
(Picture of Tristan Gray: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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