Red Sox catcher Connor Wong lands on IL with fractured pinky
The Boston Red Sox not only lost Monday night's game to the Blue Jays, which snapped a five-game winning streak, but the team also lost catcher Connor Wong to an injury. The Boston backstop was hurt in the first inning, and is now set to miss an unknown amount of time.
Wong was injured just four batters into a chilly and wet night at Fenway Park, when he was hit on the left hand by George Springer's bat in the top of the first. The play resulted in a catcher's interference and a broken left pinky finger for Wong, who finished the inning before he was replaced by backup Carlos Narvaez.
"He has a small fracture in the pinky area," Boston manager Alex Cora said after the team's 6-2 loss. "He's going to the IL. How long, we don't know. But just, a late swing got him good. So we're gonna have to make a move."
The Red Sox were counting on Wong to be behind the plate for the bulk of their games this year, after he caught 126 games in each of the last two seasons. It's not a massive blow to the team, but Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow may have to get creative at catcher for as long as Wong is sidelined.
Who will Red Sox turn to at catcher?
Narvaez will take over as Boston's everyday catcher, though that may be asking a lot as the 26-year-old has just 11 Major League games under his belt. But he's played well both behind the plate and at the plate to start the season for Boston, going 6-for-14 in his first four games before going 0-for-4 after taking over for Wong on Monday night.
But after Narvaez, things are a little murky behind the plate for the Red Sox. (We'll just point out now that no one is second-guessing Boston's decision to trade away top catching prospect Kyle Teel, who was part of the package sent to Chicago that brought Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox. The Red Sox have an ace in Crochet, and can manage behind the plate for the time being.)
The likeliest candidate to be promoted and take over as Boston's backup catcher is Blake Sabol, who is the only other backstop on the team's 40-man roster. The 27-year-old played in 121 games for the San Francisco Giants over the last two years, and is 5-for-20 with two doubles and four RBI for the Worcester Red Sox this season.
Boston could also promote 31-year-old Seby Zavala, who has played in 194 games in the big leagues over the last five seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Seattle Mariners. He's hit just .205 for his career and is hitting just .111 in his five games with the WooSox this season, but is considered the better defensive option behind the plate.
Zavala isn't on the Boston 40-man roster, but the Red Sox have an open spot after Monday's trade of Quinn Priester to the Milwaukee Brewers.