Connor Wong Has Run His Course In Boston

[Alex Mayes]

It must be pretty weird to be Connor Wong. By all accounts, he's a great teammate and a hard-working player, but he’s the lone piece left of the ill-fated trade that sent Mookie Betts to the Dodgers. We’re not going to rehash that at this point, but his baseball legacy will forever be attached to one of the greatest right fielders in Boston Red Sox history. Unfortunately for Wong, he’s playing himself into joining past teammates Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs in the MLB unemployment line at the conclusion of the 2026 season. 

Going into the All-Star break, Wong was a fine backup catcher who ended up making far more starts than anyone anticipated due to the struggles that Carlos Narvaez was having at the plate. When the league took a pause for the Midsummer Classic, Wong was slashing .288/.385/.387 with 15 RBIs, one home run, a 121 wRC+, and a 0.5 fWAR. He was passable offensively and a dependable, if uninspiring, catcher behind the dish. On the season, he’s challenged 23 pitches that he believed were called incorrectly and had 16 of them overturned, good for a 70% success rate. If this keen eye behind the dish was still coupled with a league-average hitter, fans would be perfectly fine playing out the string with Wong catching every few games. 

Unfortunately for the veteran backstop, things have gone south since the league resumed play in July. For the second half of the season, Wong is slashing .172/.217/.310 with nine RBIs, three home runs, a 41 wRC+, and a team worst -0.5 fWAR. If we look at his overall defensive numbers, there’s not much to be excited about there either. His most favorable defensive metric is his blocks above average at +2, which is good for the 66th percentile. His caught stealing above average is a -2, good for the 14th percentile. His pop time is averaging 1.97 seconds, good for the 23rd percentile, and his framing runs comes in at a -7, which puts him in the third overall percentile in the league.

To put it simply, the second half of the season has been a slog for Wong. He’s made errors in big situations, having struggled to corral pitches that have high velocity behind them. Wong has been penciled in as the personal catcher for both Sonny Gray and Payton Tolle after the team traded Narvaez at the trade deadline, but both pitchers have recently begun throwing to newcomer Adley Rutschman. It's telling that the shift to a different catcher has been so quick, especially with the new face nursing an elbow injury that kept him sidelined for a few games earlier this month. 

The biggest question now is: What can the Red Sox do with Wong moving forward? Don’t be shocked to see him DFA’d as the team navigates through the late fall months before the lockout hits in December, but doesn't solve the problem in the here and now.

It would be considered a fairly drastic move by some, but it wouldn’t shock me at all to see Wong optioned to Worcester once Willson Contreras comes off the injured list later this week, paving the way for the Goateed Menace himself, Mickey Gasper, to slide into a hybrid DH/backup first baseman/backup catcher role through the end of the season. Due to Wong’s defensive downturn, they're both grading out in a fairly similar manner behind the dish. To maximize offense and roster spots, perhaps a demotion is warranted.

Connor Wong has likely run out of goodwill in Boston, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has watched most of his career here. It’s time for the Red Sox to move on from the lone remaining piece of the Betts trade, with the goal of replenishing their catching depth in the offseason.

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[bobo52]

I'm not so sure they will be getting rid of Wong - he hits LHP by far the best of the 3.  The Red Sox do not even bat Gasper against lefties (269 OPS against LHP and 964 vs RHP) )  and Rutschman (640 OPS against LHP and 784 against RHP) is also stronger against RHP.  Wong hits 724 OPS against LHP and 636 vs RHP - much better against lefties than the alternatives.  I think they like the flexibility/platoon advantages of keeping Wong  and the fact that Gasper can be a platoon 1B or DH allows them to carry the 3 catchers.  

Wong is also much better than Gasper defensively and Rutschman has an elbow problem.  I hope Wong can turn it around - we can definitely use him against lefties.  

[moonslav59]

Wong has had a few stretches where he looks like he can hit .725-.775, but then he keeps relapsing into .550-.650. His defense has improved some, and he has gotten good/better results from a few starting pitchers over the years.

I agree. This winter should see a change made, and no Gasper should not be the #2. Number 2's play too often.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, bobo52 said:

I'm not so sure they will be getting rid of Wong - he hits LHP by far the best of the 3.  The Red Sox do not even bat Gasper against lefties (269 OPS against LHP and 964 vs RHP) )  and Rutschman (640 OPS against LHP and 784 against RHP) is also stronger against RHP.  Wong hits 724 OPS against LHP and 636 vs RHP - much better against lefties than the alternatives.  I think they like the flexibility/platoon advantages of keeping Wong  and the fact that Gasper can be a platoon 1B or DH allows them to carry the 3 catchers.  

Wong is also much better than Gasper defensively and Rutschman has an elbow problem.  I hope Wong can turn it around - we can definitely use him against lefties.  

Adley is a career 771 vs LHP. He's basically been an even split guy and I wouldn't necessarily believe that he'd favor RHP going forward.