Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong (illness) returned to the starting lineup on Sunday. Wong is batting six and behind the dish. The backstop has been dealing with an illness during the week but is making a quick return to the starting lineup. Fantasy managers should expect Wong to be Boston's primary catcher during the 2025 season. Last summer, Wong logged a career-high in plate appearances and posted a .280/.333/.425 slash line. He tallied 24 doubles and added 13 long balls. He held a 28:114 BB:K and swiped eight bags. Under the hood, he generated a low .231 xBA with a .288 xwOBA which suggests he will likely face some regression during the upcoming campaign. Fantasy managers should view Wong as a solid No. 2 catcher as he should see ample playing time in a competitive lineup.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong (illness) was scratched from Wednesday's contest due to an illness. Several Boston players have dealt with an illness during camp. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status but Wong will likely be held out of the lineup for a few days. His spring debut was delayed due to a shoulder injury. The 28-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024 as he posted a strong .280/.333/.425 slash line with 13 home runs and eight stolen bases. However, he generated a modest .231 xBA with a .355 xSLG, which suggests that he may face some regression during the 2025 season. When healthy, fantasy managers should expect Wong to be the primary backstop in Boston. While he is sidelined, Blake Sabol, Seby Zavala and Carlos Narvaez will compete for opportunities.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong (shoulder) is set to make his Grapefruit League debut on Saturday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins. Wong has been dealing with a sore shoulder throughout the early part of camp. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status in case he faces a setback. Over the past two seasons, Wong logged 126 games in each campaign for the Red Sox. Last summer, he held a .280/.333/.425 slash line with 24 doubles, 13 home runs, and eight stolen bases. While he saw 106 of his starts behind the dish, he was occasionally deployed in the infield and also saw one start in left field. With prospect Kyle Teel now in Chicago, fantasy managers should expect Teel to see the vast majority of starts behind the plate during the 2025 campaign. Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol will compete for the No. 2 role.
The Boston Red Sox are "shooting for the weekend" for catcher Connor Wong (shoulder) to make his Grapefruit League debut, according to manager Alex Cora. "He's going to get live at-bats tomorrow and the next day," Cora said. Wong has been slowed early in spring training with a sore shoulder, but it's not an injury that really puts his Opening Day availability in question for the end of March. The 28-year-old will be Boston's primary catcher in 2025 after he hit .280/.333/.425 with career-highs in home runs (13) and RBI (52) while stealing eight bases and scoring 54 runs in 126 games played. The playing time will be there, but fantasy managers shouldn't necessarily expect a repeat of his 2024 numbers, especially in the average department. Wong's breakout season was fueled by a bloated BABIP. Treating him as a No. 1 fantasy catcher would be a mistake.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong (shoulder) is absent from Monday's Grapefruit League lineup against the division-rival New York Yankees. Wong is dealing with a sore shoulder in spring training. It's not a serious injury for the 28-year-old, though, and he's expected to play in a game at some point this week. Wong broke out for the BoSox in his fourth big-league season by slashing .280/.333/.425 with a .758 OPS, 13 home runs, 52 RBI, eight stolen bases and 54 runs scored in 126 games last year, but his production was down notably in the second half. He showed much better plate discipline in 2024, but fantasy managers should count on regression after his first-half production was mostly buoyed by an unsustainably-high BABIP. Wong will be Boston's starting backstop again, but you shouldn't be valuing him as a starter in single-catcher leagues.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong (shoulder) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Sunday's Grapefruit contest. Wong is dealing with shoulder soreness, but is expected to be back in the lineup on Monday. This appears to be a minor injury, so Wong should be fine within the next day or two. The expectation is that Wong will operate as the starting catcher in Boston. Last season, Wong slashed .280/.333/.425 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI across 126 games. He has earned a chance to be the everyday catcher in Boston.
The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey writes that Boston Red Sox Connor Wong looked noticeably stronger at Fenway Fest after he spent the offseason "eating a lot" in order to make himself more durable. Wong hit .327 with an .857 OPS through the end of June last season but tailed off offensively in the second half, both offensively and defensively. The 28-year-old backstop is hoping to take a step forward in his fifth MLB campaign in 2025 and will be working with new catching instructor Park Guinn, in addition to Red Sox legend Jason Varitek. Wong broke out to the tune of a .280/.333/.425 slash line and career-highs in home runs (13) and RBI (52) while adding eight steals in 126 games. The majority of his production was buoyed by a strong BABIP that won't be sustainable in 2025, so fantasy managers shouldn't consider him anything more than a low-end No. 2 catcher.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong is not in the team's starting lineup on Friday for the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Fenway Park. Danny Jansen will do the catching for right-hander Brayan Bello and will hit seventh against Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson. Predictably, Wong has come back down to Earth since the All-Star break after a scorching first half. The 28-year-old backstop has gone hitless in 11 plate appearances with two strikeouts in his last four contests and is hitting only .236 (25-for-106) with three homers, seven RBI, 12 RBI and 33 strikeouts in 28 games since the All-Star break. Wong is still slashing a strong .286/.340/.426 on the year with 11 homers and 44 RBI as Boston's primary catcher. Jansen has gone 9-for-35 (.257) with two homers and five RBI in his first 13 games for the Red Sox.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong retreats to the bench for Wednesday's contest against the visiting Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. Danny Jansen will do the catching for right-hander Tanner Houck and will bat fifth against Rangers right-hander Dane Dunning. Wong has really stepped up as Boston's primary catcher in 2024, hitting .295 (97-for-329) with 11 homers, 43 RBI and six stolen bases in his fourth year in the big leagues. Advanced metrics continue to say that Wong is due for serious regression to close out the year, but he's managed to hit .289 (13-for-45) so far in 10 games in the month of August with a homer, three doubles, seven RBI and a stolen base. Since being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline at the end of July, Jansen has gone 7-for-19 (.368) with two homers and four RBI in seven games for Boston.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong will take a seat on the bench for Saturday's contest against the visiting Houston Astros. Danny Jansen will do the catching for right-hander Josh Winckowski and will bat fifth against Astros rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti. Wong was on a tear to kick the season off but has considerably cooled off at the plate and could use the day off after going hitless in his last nine at-bats with five strikeouts in his last two games played to snap a five-game hitting streak to open the month of August. Since the All-Star break, he's hitting .247 (18-for-73) with two homers, five doubles, eight RBI and 24 strikeouts in 18 games. The 28-year-old is still having a fine season as Boston's starting catcher, though, with a .293/.351/.432 slash line, a .783 OPS and a career-high 10 home runs and 40 RBI in 88 games played.
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