Alex Cora reveals how Red Sox will handle catching duties with Connor Wong out indefinitely (2025)

BOSTON — With starter Connor Wong out indefinitely after fracturing his lefty pinky in Monday’s loss, the Red Sox have a pretty clear gameplan of what they’re going to do behind the plate in the weeks to come.

Backup Carlos Narváez, who started four of the first 11 games with Wong healthy, is going to be the starter, as expected, and get the lion’s share of games as Boston’s catcher.

“Carlos is going to play a lot,” said manager Alex Cora, matter-of-factly.

Narváez will be backed up by Blake Sabol, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. Sabol, who can also play the outfield, was already on Boston’s 40-man roster after a winter trade with San Francisco and has 121 games of major league experience over two seasons. The Red Sox acquired both Narváez and Sabol in offseason trades to bolster their catching depth after Danny Jansen signed with the Rays and the club traded presumed catcher-of-the-future Kyle Teel to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet blockbuster.

In Narváez, the Red Sox have a ready-made option who has impressed on both sides of the ball in the early part of the season. So far, the 26-year-old is hitting .333 (6-for-18) with three doubles, four RBIs and just two strikeouts in 22 plate appearances. Statcast ranks him highly (93rd percentile) among blockers behind the plate so far and puts his framing in the 72nd percentile in 2025.

Narváez, who entered the season with just six games of big league experience (all with the Yankees last year) had caught Cora’s eye before Wong’s injury, with the manager saying the Venezuela native was “going to play more” if he kept hitting the way he had been. Now, he’ll be thrust into starting duty on a near-everyday basis while Wong heals.

There’s no timetable yet for Wong’s return, though he’ll be out longer than his 10-day injured list stint suggests. While the fracture, caused by a George Springer swing on a catcher’s interference, is a minor one, the team will need the bone to heal before getting Wong back in game action.

“It’s a fracture so we’ll take a look on a weekly basis. It’s a very small one,” said Cora. “The hand specialist was explaining to me that it’s the best-case scenario, so hopefully he’ll be back with us sooner rather than later.”

Narváez and Sabol are the only healthy catchers on Boston’s 40-man roster but there are other options in the organization. Seby Zavala, who has 194 MLB games under his belt over five seasons, remains at the organization at Triple-A Worcester and could be an option if the Sox wanted to prioritize defense. Mark Kolozsvary, who has also played in the majors and was with the organization, began the year at Double-A but will likely take Sabol’s spot with the WooSox and join Nathan Hickey as catching options there.

The Red Sox could look to go outside the organization for another option, though the list of available free agents is a limited one (Yasmani Grandal and Yan Gomes are the prominent names). Boston could try to swing a minor trade or wait until May 1, when veterans on minor-league deals across baseball can opt out of their contracts. For now, though, it’ll be Narváez being backed up by Sabol, the 27-year-old former Giant who hit .250 (5-for-20) with two doubles and four RBI while making four starts as the catcher and two as the designated hitter for Worcester.

“Left-handed hitter, good receiver,” Cora said. “That’s where we’re at.”