Connor Wong slugs two-run homer in loss to A’s

It’s ostensibly a one-for-one swap of backup catchers with Rogers replacing Carlos Narváez on Boston’s roster. He’s going to split the catching duties with Connor Wong until Adley Rutschman (wrist) is ready to come off the injured list.

Apparently, the medicals were approved. The Orioles will get Anthony Eyanson (Boston’s No. 1 pitching prospect), 2025 first-rounder Kyson Witherspoon, Carlos Narváez and more, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Jacob Calvin Meyer. The Red Sox will have Rutschman under control through 2027. He’s still on the IL for now, but he’ll take over from Connor Wong as the starter when healthy. Jake Rogers is also in the deal going to Boston, so he’ll back up Wong for now. For Baltimore, the move clears the way for Samuel Basallo to spend the next several years as a starting catcher.

It’s far from ideal that the Red Sox are DHing Wong against lefties on occasion, but it worked out today. Wong had gone 99 plate appearances this year and 188 last year without homering after hitting 13 in 487 plate appearances in 2024. He has hit a respectable .270/.356/.393 in his part-time role this season.

The double was originally ruled a homer, which would have been Wong’s first since Sept. 2024, but it was overturned. The ball hit the top padding on the wall, appeared to sink behind the wall, but then bounced back into play. It would have been his sixth career homer against Cleveland, which is kind of nuts. The only other team he has more than two against is Cincinnati (three in eight games), so it must be an Ohio thing. He has eight homers in 22 games against those two clubs and 15 in 359 games against everyone else.

Connor Wong replaced him. The Red Sox also have Mickey Gasper as a catcher option, so they wouldn’t need to make a move for another catcher if Narváez needs a couple of days off. Anything more than that, though, and he’ll probably land on the IL. Matt Thaiss or Jason Delay could get the call in that case.

Wong appears to have avoided major injury after rolling his ankle on a bizarre-looking play during the eighth inning of Wednesday’s win over the Phillies. He was replaced by Carlos Narváez behind the plate in the ninth inning of the contest. It doesn’t sound like a massive concern.

As of now, we have no idea what the issue is, but Narváez said the decision to scratch him was “nothing physical,” and Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, “This is something that happens in every club. Or just happens to be early in the season. It’s the right thing to do.” Hopefully this is just one game absence. Connor Wong will start in his place.

This means Connor Wong has won the job as Boston’s backup catcher. Thaiss put pressure on Wong this spring when he got off to a strong start as a hitter and also showcased his plus defensive skills and ability to manage a pitching staff. However, Thaiss wound up going just 4-for-21 this spring, and the Red Sox will see if they can keep him in the organization as catching depth. Gasper is on the 40-man roster, so he will likely head to Triple-A Worcester.

Anthony will get a few exhibition games under his belt with the Red Sox before joining Team USA for next month’s World Baseball Classic. The 21-year-old on-base machine’s perch atop Boston’s formidable lineup, which features offseason acquisition Willson Contreras in the heart of the order, makes it easy to project him as an impact fantasy contributor in the runs scored department. His ability to generate consistent hard contact, as evidenced by a 94.5 mph average exit velocity — the highest single-season mark by a hitter under the age of 22 in the Statcast era — portend immediate success at the highest level as a power-hitting table-setter. He’ll be an early-round pick in all fantasy drafts this spring. Here’s the full lineup: Anthony (RF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Wilyer Abreu (DH), Contreras (1B), Masataka Yoshida (LF), Connor Wong (C), Andruw Monasterio (3B), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (SS) and Brendan Rodgers (2B).

MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo says it’s a $1.375 million deal. Wong had a disastrous 2025, hitting just .190/.262/.238 with seven RBI in 188 plate appearances, and there was thought the Red Sox might try to upgrade behind Carlos Narváez. Still, there just aren’t many quality backups available at the moment, and Wong settled for $600,000 more than the MLB minimum in his first year of arbitration. He might bounce back somewhat offensively, but he’ll definitely take a backseat to Narváez when it comes to playing time.