The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have been connected throughout baseball history through a variety of standout players.
Yep, the Yankees drafted Gasper in the 27th round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
Babe Ruth helped spark the overall rivalry between these two ballclubs through The Curse of the Bambino. Johnny Damon and Jacoby Ellsbury also crossed from the Boston Red Sox to the Yankees. Mickey Gasper became the latest crossover, and one of the least predictable.
Boston Red Sox Acquisition of Mickey Gasper
He was his conference’s player of the year in 2018, but clearly, he wasn’t viewed as a high-end pro prospect.
Gasper had a 1.671 OPS in August, which has only been topped in a calendar month by Ted Williams, Barry Bonds twice and Carlos Pena.
The Red Sox initially took Gasper in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft after he was kept off the Yankees’ 40-man roster.
He needed waiver claims to the Minnesota Twins and then the Washington Nationals before the Boston Red Sox claimed him back.
Gasper was nearly 23 years old when the Yankees picked him, and he signed for just $5,000, Kepner writes.
Gasper is the only player chosen in the 27th round of the 2018 MLB Draft to reach the major leagues, The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner notes.
He posted a .400 average and six home runs in the last two weeks of August. When the calendar flipped to September, Gasper homered again.
How Mickey Gasper Found a Place in the Boston Red Sox Lineup
The Boston Red Sox optioned Gasper to the minors on a Sunday after two players came off the injured list. The team lost by 15 runs that day at Yankee Stadium. Boston brought Gasper right back when Willson Contreras strained his hamstring. Gasper homered in his at-bat on Monday.
Teams still are not sure where to play him. He has played designated hitter, catcher and first base for the Red Sox. The Twins also tried him at second base and in left field. As long as his bat is working, he will have a spot in the Boston lineup.
A Draft Pick No One Saw Coming
The 27th round of the 2018 MLB Draft does not even exist anymore. Mickey Gasper played college ball at Bryant University in Rhode Island after growing up in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The Yankees kept him off their 40-man roster. A winding path through waiver claims followed before the Boston Red Sox got him back.
The Story Behind the Unlikely Rise
There is no telling whether Mickey Gasper would have made it to the Yankees in the same way he now has made it to the Red Sox. His August performance earned him folk-hero status among Red Sox fans. The numbers from that month place him alongside Ted Williams, Barry Bonds and Carlos Pena in rare air.
