Connor

Wong

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said in a radio interview with WEEI 103.7 FM in Boston that Rutschman is dealing with a hyperextended elbow that he’ll have to manage for the remainder of the season. It’s a concerning development since the Red Sox don’t really have any in-house alternatives to compensate from his absence. It’ll be Connor Wong behind the plate for the second straight game.

On Tuesday, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said that Rutschman “felt something” in his elbow during Monday’s game, but the team wasn’t concerned. This is now the second day in a row that Rutschman has been held out of the lineup. The Red Sox may believe they can beat the Marlins without his bat and want to ensure he’s healthy for Friday’s series opener against the Yankees. However, with Rutschman’s injury history, it makes sense to be a little concerned. Connor Wong will catch and bat ninth, while Mickey Gasper, who homered twice on Tuesday, is the DH and bats fifth.

Five innings of one rehab game was apparently enough for Rutschman to prove he was ready to return from wrist inflammation. He’s expected to work out on the field prior to Monday’s game, and if that goes well, he should be activated. The Red Sox would then have to decide whether to DFA Jake Rogers or send Connor Wong to Triple-A.

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.

Wong entered the game on defense in the bottom of the eighth inning after Masataka Yoshida had pinch-hit for starting catcher Carlos Narváez. He then made things interesting in the top of the ninth, taking Hogan Harris deep for a two-run homer to bring the Red Sox within a run for his second homer of the season. The 30-year-old backstop has taken a larger share of the workload behind the plate and has been hitting the ball well, slashing .271/.359/.383 with 17 RBI across 157 plate appearances.

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.