Connor

Wong

Zavala fortifies Boston’s catching depth behind Connor Wong. He makes sense as a temporary stopgap until top prospect Kyle Teel is ready to ascend to the big leagues at some point next year. The 31-year-old journeyman backstop holds a lifetime .613 OPS in 194 contests in the majors since 2019.

With the Red Sox facing left-hander Cade Povich, it will be Connor Wong starting at first base with Danny Jansen catching. Tyler O’Neill will also slide to DH with Rob Refsnyder moving to right field. At some point, the Red Sox are going to need to trust Casas against lefties. Perhaps this is because he’s still not 100 percent after his rib injury, but the Red Sox are quickly falling out of the playoff race and should be fielding their best lineup each and every game. It’s hard to believe Casas doesn’t belong in that case.

Wong was the vast majority of the Red Sox offense on Sunday. The home run was his 13th of the season and he now has 48 RBI to go along with a solid .286/.338/.436 slash line. He has been a fine catcher for the Red Sox for both real-life and fantasy purposes.

Wong smacked a run-scoring double off of Casey Mize in the fourth inning that extended the Red Sox’ early advantage to 3-0. He then clobbered a two-out, 368-foot solo shot off of Mize in the sixth inning that made it 4-0. With his two-hit effort, Wong is now slashing .285/.339/.432 with 12 homers and 46 RBI on the season.

The catcher broke open the game with a three-run shot in the fifth inning. It was his 11th home run of the season to go along with an impressive .295/.352/.441 slash line. He hits regularly in the middle of the order and is firmly on the radar in one-catcher formats. In fact, he’s the best player the Red Sox got back from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade.

Fresh off an impressive four-hit performance during Friday evening’s series opener, Wong gets the nod at the cold corner on Saturday night with newly-acquired Danny Jansen handling the catching duties. It’s his first career start anywhere besides catcher in his big league career. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Wong, who is having a breakout season at the plate so far, get a few chances at first base against left-handed pitching over the final two months.

Wong has started five of six games since the Red Sox acquired Danny Jansen, so it doesn’t look like the backup catcher upgrade will affect his value much. The Red Sox will likely use both at the same time on occasion, particularly against lefties.

Wong went back-to-back with teammate Rob Refsnyder off of Carlos Rodon in the fourth inning — with their solo shots accounting for the entirety of the Red Sox’ offense in the ballgame. Manager Alex Cora told reporters prior to Sunday’s game that Wong could start seeing some action at first base or second base following the club’s acquisition of Danny Jansen from the Blue Jays.

Wong will sit for a second consecutive game to end the first half of the campaign. Reese McGuire will hit eighth and handle catching duties against Brady Singer and Kansas City while Wong gets another breather.

Wong’s home run was his eighth of the season. The hits keep coming for Wong as this was his third straight game with a hit. Wong’s hitting .314 with an .826 OPS and 32 RBI on the season. He’s been a nice find, especially in two-catcher formats this year.