The Red Sox and catcher Riley Adams are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of 7News in Boston. The Ballengee Group client will presumably be in camp as a non-roster player next spring.
Adams, 30, spent the season in Triple-A with the Nationals, who removed him from their 40-man roster back in January. He hit .273/.389/.506 with 16 homers in 324 plate appearances (135 wRC+). Since the Nats didn’t add Adams to the 40-man roster and he has more than three years of major league service time, he was eligible to become a minor league free agent, which he did following the season.
A former third-round pick, Adams has played parts of five seasons in the majors, mostly with Washington. He has plenty of raw power but hasn’t gotten to it often in games at the big league level, where he’s a career .211/.287/.354 hitter with a 32.5% strikeout rate.
Defensively, Adams has repeatedly graded out as a poor framer but has turned in decent marks in terms of blocking balls in the dirt and throwing. He’s played a little first base in his career but has spent the overwhelming amount of his time at catcher and designated hitter. Adams has played parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level and posted a .260/.373/.489 batting line in 764 plate appearances there.
The Red Sox aren’t going to view Adams as anything more than depth. They traded for Adley Rutschman at the deadline and have Connor Wong and Mickey Gasper as backup options on the 40-man roster (though Gasper rarely played catcher in 2026). Either could be viewed as Rutschman’s primary backup, but there’s room for Boston to go out and add a more established backup option in free agency or via the trade market this winter. Either way, Adams will be on hand as some seasoned depth to give the Sox a third or fourth option.
