Chicago White Sox sign Raudy Read to minor-league deal

The Chicago White Sox, one of the deepest clubs behind the plate in the bigs, have signed Raudy Read to a minor-league contract. The 28-year-old has spent the entirety of his career with the Washington Nationals to this point.

The Chicago White Sox add more catching depth

As things currently stand, the South Siders have Yasmani Grandal, Seby Zavala, Zack Collins, and Yermin Mercedes on their 40-man roster at catcher, although Collins and Mercedes look more like first basemen.

Raudy Read was drafted by the Nats all the way back in 2011 as an international free agent. His journey took almost seven years before he cracked the big league roster, finally making it to The Show in 2017. This was mostly in part due to defensive question-marks highlighted in this scouting report by Nationals blog, Nats GM.

Read does a poor job blocking errant pitches and keeping the ball close to his body. Also, his hands are not particularly soft, as he struggles framing the baseball, often snatching the ball out of the air. Finally, his body is somewhat “loud” when setting his target and receiving the pitch. He will not necessitate a position switch, but he projects as a below-average defensive catcher.

While his showing in the major leagues was brief in 2017, Read was able to record his first career base hit off of Miami Marlins pitcher Jarlin Garcia. Read wrapped up that season with eight games in the majors, going 3-for-11 at the plate.

Heading into 2018, Read truly felt like he had a shot at cracking the big league team out of Spring Training. But before the season even began in February of that year, he became the first ever rostered player in Washington Nationals history to be suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. His suspension opened the door for other backstops in the system such as Tres Barrera to leapfrog him on the depth chart.

Read’s last appearances in the majors to this point was in 2019. The then-25-year-old backstop registered just one hit in 11 plate appearances; ultimately being outrighted off of the Nats’ 40-man roster at the conclusion of 2020.

The Chicago White Sox have brought aboard catcher Raudy Read on a minor-league deal. The 28-year-old Read has considerable thump in his bat and is capable of playing both catcher and first base on the defensive side of things. He will add to Chicago’s ever-growing depth behind the plate.