The Boston Red Sox are in the midst of their three-game series against the New York Yankees.
On Friday night, the Red Sox clinched a 5-3 victory over the Yankees.
With the series in full swing, Boston continues weighing options ahead of the August trade deadline.
Boston Red Sox Are Shopping Catcher Connor Wong
GettyThe Boston Red Sox are shopping Connor Wong
According to Boston baseball writer Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, the Red Sox are specifically shopping 30-year-old catcher Connor Wong.
As one of three catchers on their roster, Boston has options.
Mickey Gasper, 30, and Carlos Narváez, 27, are the other two Red Sox catchers.
A handful of organizations need reliable catchers, so Boston is certainly turning heads, given their three.
As mentioned by McCaffrey, the franchise is seeking out a right-handed bat. She suggested trading Wong out in exchange for a prospect as one feasible option.
Wong is currently slashing .264/.338/.375 with a .713 OPS and 10 RBIs through 26 games this season.
He is now playing his sixth year in the Major Leagues, all of which have been spent with the Red Sox.
Trading him would undoubtedly require an adjustment period, but shopping him seems to be more reasonable than shipping out Gasper or Narváez at this time.
Trading Wong Over Gasper or Narváez
GettyThe Boston Red Sox are actively shopping Connor Wong
In McCaffrey’s own words, “The Red Sox think highly of Gasper, a switch-hitter whose hot bat has forced him into the lineup in 20 of 25 games since he joined the club. He’s hitting .306 with a .740 OPS. On Friday, interim manager Chad Tracy penciled Gasper in at designated hitter with Wong behind the plate…”
Ahead of Boston’s second game against the Yankees, Gasper is slashing .306/.353/.387 with a .740 OPS and five RBIs through 20 games.
As for Narváez, he owns a 2026 slash line of .214/.290/.313 with a .603 OPS and two homers and 10 RBIs through 38 games.
Narváez is notably skilled on defense, which leaves Wong as the odd man out.
Gasper brings power to the plate, which again pushes Wong out of sight.
Out of the three catchers, it isn’t too surprising that Wong is the one on the chopping block right now.
It’s too early to say definitively what will happen, but now is the time when trade rumors start coming with some level of truth.
Losing Wong wouldn’t likely cause the ballclub to take a hit — if anything, the return could be well worth the loss.
August will be approaching quickly, marking the arrival of the nerve-wracking trade deadline.
Carrying three catchers on the roster isn’t truly necessary, and if the Red Sox ship Wong out and receive their long-awaited right-handed power bat in return, Boston could put itself in a more solid position.
This has been an unsteady season for the ballclub up until this point.
They are currently last in the American League East standings, with their eyesore of a record (27-35).
Making waves may be their only logical option if they want to climb in their division, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to show much hesitation this time around.
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