WORCESTER — Manager Alex Cora described Blake Sabol as “a leader” to the media right after the Red Sox optioned the 27-year-old catcher to Triple-A Worcester on March 20.
“That was really high praise,” Sabol said during Worcester’s media day Thursday at Polar Park. “It definitely feels good to know that he thinks of me in that way. I think when you’re a catcher, that’s kind of expected at the position. But to have the manager of one of the biggest teams in baseball think that about you, just in the short time we’ve had together, it’s definitely very encouraging. So I’m gonna try and prove him right, for sure.”
Sabol will begin the year here with the WooSox. Carlos Narvaez won the backup catcher job behind starter Connor Wong. But Sabol — who is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster — should get his chance eventually.
“It’s going to take more than two (catchers) during the season for us to pull this off,” Cora said.
Cora not only called Sabol a leader. He also called him “a good dude.”
Sabol joked that being called “a good dude” is “better than the inverse.”
“I always tell people we’re living our dreams out here and I’m happy to show up to work every day,” he said. “And I’m really excited for the opportunity.”
The Red Sox acquired Sabol from the Giants on Jan. 15 for international bonus pool space.
The left-handed hitter is versatile. He played 43 games in left field in addition to 55 games at catcher while being on the Giants’ roster for the entire 2023 season as a Rule 5 Draft selection.
The Red Sox plan to use Sabol a lot behind the plate in Worcester.
“They just want me to get more reps, more innings,” Sabol said. “Obviously up in the big league level, Wong’s gonna get most of the reps and he’s a starter up there. And they felt for my development, coming down here to Worcester and making sure that I get to catch a lot and play a lot, it will help me in the long run with just getting my catching up to where it can be.”
Cora said Sabol’s blocking improved throughout camp.
“The thing that I had to improve on, which was something I came to them with and we were all on the same page, was definitely the blocking,” Sabol said. “I think camp went really well. We put a lot of work into it and there were some growing pains early on. But in games I don’t think I really missed a block and stuff. That definitely improved. And so it’s just keep building off that.”
The Red Sox also altered Sabol’s catching stance. He transitioned to his right knee down.
“With the Giants in the past, I was mostly left knee down,” Sabol said. “So that was a little bit of an adjustment. And so I’m just gonna continue working in those stances and learning just different ways to put myself in the best position for certain guys on the mound in the framing sense of things.”
Sabol showed some power in San Francisco. He belted 13 homers in 344 plate appearances (110 games) as a rookie in 2023. Sabol had a .259/.319/.444/.763 slash line with 10 homers, eight doubles and 34 RBIs in 67 games (227 plate appearances) during the first half. His stats dropped when he played less (117 plate appearances) during the second half.
“I think something that everyone’s on the same page about is that my bat can play in the big leagues,” Sabol said. “I think I’ve proved that. I’ve shown some success at the big league level against some good pitchers. And so obviously continue to make sure I’m working on that but the priority for me is definitely always just getting the defense up to where it can be.”
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