Rival teams have shown interest in Boston’s trio Connor Wong, Carlos Narvaezagain Mickey GasperJen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. It appears that Wong may be considered the team’s biggest spender, as McCaffrey writes that “the Red Sox bought Wong in particular.”
The 2024 season proved to be a breakout year for Wong, who hit .280/.333/.425 with 13 homers over 487 plate appearances. Last year, however, Wong stumbled to a .190/.262/.238 slash line over 188 PA. His playing time was cut short first by a broken pinkie finger that sidelined him for a month early in the season, and when Wong struggled after using his IL, Narvaez emerged as Boston’s preferred option behind the plate.
The situation has changed somewhat in 2026, as Wong has again hit .264/.338/.375 over 82 PA, while Narvez is only hitting .214/.290/.313 over 125 PA. Gasper wasn’t called up from Triple-A until May 7, but in the past month he’s had another good stretch of play as a catcher and DH, as Gasper is hitting .306/.353/.387 in 69 PA.
Most teams carry only two relievers on the 26-man roster, though Gasper has pitched well enough to earn a look for a tough-challenged Red Sox team. Another wrinkle is that Narvaez is clearly the team’s best defensive catcher, which may be why Wong would be the odd man out, if the Sox like Gasper’s bat and Narvaez’s glove as the preferred catcher combination. Gasper and Narvaez are both average players, although Wong is not exactly cheap – he earns $ 1.375MM in 2026 in his first three years.
Even those who used to play in the big leagues Jason Delay again Matt Thaiss both in Triple-A, the Red Sox may feel they have enough catching depth to move Wong elsewhere if the right offer comes along. Given that catcher is traditionally the thinnest area around the game, it’s no surprise that Boston is getting calls on its backstops, even if it’s rare to see a first-rate catcher get dealt during the season.
The first week of June is also too early for a trade that has a real impact, as clubs usually wait until the trade deadline for such moves. The amount of parity in the American League also makes trade negotiations more difficult to determine, such as baseball’s Red Sox. Craig Breslow said when he spoke with McCaffrey and other reporters yesterday.
“[We’re] having a lot of conversations, a lot of conversations, and I think that’s been kind of true across the industry,” Breslow said.But there are a lot of teams that probably feel the same way we do, meaning they’re confident in their rosters, they know they’re not playing as well as they can, and really, no one is putting the postseason out of reach. So there are a lot of groups out there right now that think the same way as us.”
While the Red Sox have a 27-35 record, they are also only 3.5 games behind the 31-32 Rangers for the last AL wild card slot. So far, Boston has been looking to add to its roster, right-handedly beating a certain desire of the club. Wong is a right-handed hitter and almost a split in his career, although 2026 was a year of reverse splits, with Wong enjoying much more success against right-handed pitchers than southpaws.
If the Sox are out of the race and decide to sell, the team will have plenty of trade chips available, especially from their relief corps. McCaffrey notes that the Red Sox have received calls Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlockagain Justin Slatebut the club currently has “no interest in dealing with anyone from that bullpen trio.” That situation is understandable given how Boston’s pen has helped carry the team this season, so even in a power-packed situation, the Red Sox may not want to eliminate the bullpen to address another need.
Chapman and Whitlock are technically both in the final years of their contracts, but with some degree of added control. Chapman’s $13MM co-op option for the 2027 season is contingent on a guaranteed salary if he pitches just 40 innings, and he’s already logged 19 2/3 frames. The Red Sox hold an $8.75MM club option (with a $1MM buyout) on Whitlock for 2027, and a $10.5MM club option (a $100K buyout) on his 2028 services. Slaten would probably be the hardest to trade for affordability, as the right-hander’s fitness extends into winter.
