Mickey Gasper is batting sixth as the Red Sox’s designated hitter Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Fenway Park, three days after returning from Triple-A Worcester. Boston is not hiding the reason for the move.
He has started and hit in both games since the recall.
Gasper is 3-for-7 with two homers, four RBIs and two walks as the Red Sox took the first two games of the series, 11-1 and 9-4. He began the set in the No. 8 spot, dropped to ninth yesterday and now bats sixth.
The 30-year-old New Hampshire native reached base four times Tuesday, and now moves into the middle as Boston tries for a sweep. Gasper’s updated Red Sox statistics include a .254 average, .323 on-base percentage, .368 slugging percentage, two home runs and 11 RBIs in 114 at-bats.
The lineup has Nick Sogard at second base, Ceddanne Rafaela in center, Wilyer Abreu in right, Willson Contreras at first, Caleb Durbin at third, Gasper at DH, Andruw Monasterio at shortstop, Jarren Duran in left and Connor Wong catching. Righty Brandon Pfaadt gets the start for Arizona for Wednesday’s afternoon game.
Why Gasper Moved Up
The immediate explanation for the latest Red Sox decision with Gasper is production against right-handed pitching. Gasper homered in Monday’s seventh inning, then followed with a 414-foot solo shot off Kevin Ginkel on Tuesday. He also added an RBI single and two walks, turning a 2-for-2 night into four times on base.
“He can hit,” interim manager Chad Tracy said after Tuesday’s win. “He’s a really, really good at-bat, and the ball just finds the barrel.” Tracy praised Gasper’s recent run Tuesday, after the switch-hitter’s second homer in two games.
The move to sixth also follows Masataka Yoshida’s injury. Yoshida went on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left hamstring strain suffered while trying to stretch a double in Pittsburgh, and Gasper was recalled in the corresponding roster move.
Gasper had already supplied the offense Boston needed from its temporary DH option. As a result, he is no longer hitting ninth.
A Long Route to Boston
Gasper was born Oct. 11, 1995, in Merrimack, New Hampshire. He is listed at 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, bats from either side and throws right-handed. The Yankees selected him in the 27th round of the 2018 Draft out of Bryant University, where he compiled the school’s best career on-base percentage.
He spent six seasons in the Yankees’ organization before Boston chose him in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He debuted for the Red Sox on August 12, 2024, appeared briefly for the Twins in 2025, then returned to Boston on waivers before this season. The Red Sox list Gasper as a catcher, first baseman and designated-hitter.
That flexibility helped get him to the majors. But it cost him a roster spot in late June.
“Obviously, he has cooled off a little bit with the bat,” Tracy said when Boston optioned Gasper on June 28. “The quality is still really good.”
The manager said Boston needed additional bench versatility with Romy Gonzalez active and Yoshida requiring DH at-bats.
The situation changed when Yoshida went down with the hamstring strain.
Red Sox Announce New Mickey Gasper Decision Before Diamondbacks Series Finale