Red Sox Sign Connor Wong to $1.375M Contract

The Boston Red Sox signed catcher Connor Wong to a one-year contract worth $1.375 million on Thursday, avoiding a salary arbitration hearing and securing him as a backup for the 2026 season. The agreement, announced a day before Major League Baseball's deadline for teams to tender contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters, includes up to $75,000 in performance bonuses tied to plate appearances.

Wong, 29, enters his first year of arbitration eligibility after a disappointing 2025 campaign. He appeared in 63 games, starting 52 behind the plate, and hit .190 with eight doubles, seven RBIs, no home runs and a .500 OPS in 188 plate appearances. An early-season injury sidelined him when he fractured his left pinky finger on April 7 after being struck by a swing from Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer. Upon returning on May 2, Wong found himself overtaken by rookie Carlos Narváez, who had been acquired from the New York Yankees in the previous offseason. Narváez posted 15 home runs and a .726 OPS as a rookie, finishing sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting, and earned praise for his defense and pitch-framing.

The 2025 season marked a sharp decline for...