Former last resort Tigers catcher signs minor league deal with Red Sox

The Tigers released third-string catcher Tomás Nido in late July, after almost two years in the organization. He spent a short and actually pretty productive stint in the majors last year — .343 with a .704 OPS in 11 games — when Jake Rogers went onto the IL, but Eduardo Valencia's cup of coffee in Detroit in mid-July made it clear that if anyone was going to give Rogers grief for the backup job, it wouldn't be Nido.

The veteran wasn't batting well in Triple-A at the time he was released, either. He hit .236 with a .685 OPS in 43 games and spent a short stint on the IL.

Detroit was quick to restore some break-glass-in-case-of-emergency catching depth by signing career farmhand Carlos Pérez and former White Sox Seby Zavala to minor league deals, and they dealt Rogers ahead of the deadline to make Valencia their clear-cut backup.

After a month-long free agency, Nido has a new home. Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive, he signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox — not long after they, themselves, DFA'ed Rogers.

Catchers are always in demand, so it's not surprising that Nido eventually found a new home, and he might get another look at the majors sooner than later given Adley Rutschman's propensity for injury.

Former Tigers backup catcher Tomás Nido signs minor league deal with Red Sox

The Red Sox have had a not-so-funny habit of taking discarded Tigers players and extracting productivity. It's likely that Jahmai Jones and Rogers just needed a change of scenery, but Jones especially has turned into an absolute monster in Boston. He's only played in 19 games and is almost exclusively a pinch-hit DH, as he was in Detroit, but he's batting .500 with a 1.543 OPS in 26 at-bats.

Nido isn't promised a major league spot, of course. Rutschman and Connor Wong are the Red Sox's go-to tandem for the moment, but it never hurts to have an insurance policy. Rutschman just came off the IL earlier this month, but he's had multiple stints this year alone and sat out of two games this week with elbow soreness.

The Red Sox mark Nido's fourth organization in a nearly decade-long career. The Tigers liked him enough to re-sign him to a minor league deal for 2026, with incentives. Although it didn't work out in Detroit, we can wish him well and hope he gets back to the majors in Boston.

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