Connor Wong has a role with Red Sox because having a second catcher who can produce can be important

Boston Globe

3 days ago

Next thing you know Bobby Valentine was manager and Theo Epstein had taken off to run the Cubs.
History aside, it's hard not to watch games these days without thinking a little bit ahead.
A good example came in the eighth inning on Friday night when Padres reliever Sean Reynolds walked three batters in a row.
Advertisement
Connor Wong, who has struggled at the plate all season, expected the rookie to throw him a first-pitch fastball to get ahead in the count.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
He did and Wong lined it down the left-field line for a three-run double. Believe it or not, that gave him four RBIs this season in 111 at-bats. The Sox cruised to a 10-2 victory.
'There's a guy that we trust. He calls a good game [and] defensively he's a lot better than last year,' Sox manager Alex Cora said.
With rookie Carlos Narváez piling up innings, the Sox have made it a point to give Wong more starts.
'The more he plays, you can see the results,' Cora said. 'We need everybody. You can see the quality of the at-bats are much better. . . . Happy to see him perform because he's a big part of what we're trying to accomplish.'
Advertisement
Narváez has been terrific, catching far more games than expected and boosting the offense early in the season. Acquiring him from the Yankees in December was a coup for Craig Breslow.
But Narváez has hit .111 with a .393 OPS since the All-Star break and is dealing with a sore right knee. Wong is 6 for 24 with three doubles since the break and struck out twice.
His uptick offensively has come at the right time.
'You don't want anybody to get hurt but it has been nice to get some better swings lately,' Wong said. 'You work so hard and try and put good at-bats together and sometimes you don't get the results.
'It feels like you went fishing and didn't catch anything. You thought you did everything right. But you have to keep trusting it and keep working hard.'
Think back to the 2013 playoffs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was the primary catcher all season, starting 111 games. But he went cold at the plate in the postseason and manager John Farrell turned to David Ross to start the final three games of the World Series.
Ross had two hits in Game 5 in St. Louis including a go-ahead double in the seventh inning off Adam Wainright.
Having a second catcher who can step in and produce can be important.
The Red Sox also have some questions about first base. Abraham Toro, who platoons with Romy Gonzalez, has a .570 OPS since the All-Star break.
Gonzalez has an .807 OPS since the break but the Sox are still looking at options.
Advertisement
Triple A outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia has started working at first base before games with Triple A Worcester. The 22-year-old has no experience at first base but is a righthanded hitter who has a .961 OPS over 58 games with Worcester.
Xander Bogaerts made his major league debut on Aug. 20, 2013, and played in 12 postseason games, shifting from shortstop to third base. He was 8 for 27 in those games and scored nine runs.
It seems unlikely Garcia could become the regular first baseman but he could show enough to merit a spot on the roster.
A No. 5 starter isn't needed in the postseason. But the Sox will be looking at candidates who would pitch multiple innings when needed.
Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Steven Matz, and Dustin May are among the candidates.
The Sox have work to do before these questions have to be answered. But every swing and every pitch is a bit more meaningful with the postseason a growing possibility.
Peter Abraham can be reached at