​Connor Wong’s strong season gives the Red Sox a temporary solution at catcher, originally published by The Sporting News. The Sporting News is listed as a preferred source here. The Boston Red Sox have been riding a hot streak, sweeping two of their last three series and winning 10 of their past 12 games. While the club has a real shot at the playoffs, they may not yet be ready to contend unless they upgrade a few positions, including catcher—a spot the team has struggled to stabilize for some time. Fortunately, Connor Wong is providing a helpful stopgap this season.
Wong has emerged as one of Boston’s more reliable hitters this year. He’s posting a .294/.387/.402/.789 slash line through 38 games, with eight doubles, a home run, and 15 RBIs. Interestingly, he has been the backup to Carlos Narváez, who had more offensive success last year but has not carried that form into this season.
Throughout his career, Wong has been a pendulum hitter—hot at times and cold at others, without many long, gradual streaks. When he’s on, he contributes in a significant way, and when he’s off, the results lag. This season has seen him serve as one of the team’s better offensive contributors, a notable contrast to last season, when he slashed .190/.262/.238/.500 with zero homers and seven RBIs in 63 games. By comparison, in 2024 he turned in a much more productive line: .280/.333/.425/.758 with 24 doubles, 13 homers, and 52 RBIs over 126 games.
Given this pattern, some observers have argued that Wong should be given more opportunities as a starter this season to maximize his bat in a sometimes streaky lineup. Yet the outlook for next season could bring a different equation altogether. In essence, Wong appears to be a bridge catcher—situationally valuable, but not a settled long-term starter. He occupies a middle ground between starter and backup, and in that role the prudent move is to develop him into a high-quality backup while continuing to search for a true, long-term solution.
Until Narváez returns to form, or the Sox identify another catcher, Wong’s presence provides a functional, if imperfect, bridge at the position. The team’s broader ambitions—this season and beyond—will hinge on whether they can upgrade at catcher and reinforce other areas to become legitimate World Series contenders once more. With the right adjustments, the Red Sox could turn this transitional period into a foundation for sustained success, leveraging Wong’s bat while pursuing a more definitive long-term catcher. This update underscores the ongoing need for the club to address catcher head-on as part of their broader plan to bolster the roster and improve their postseason upside.