Connor Wong has earned his shot at a full year in MLB

Jim Davis / Boston Globe

There are currently seven catchers who have reported to big league camp and only two of them have been in the organization longer than Connor Wong. The two who have been in the Red Sox system longer, Stephen Scott and Elih Marrero, have yet to make it past Portland. Tenure in the organization is no longer there with the departure of Christian Vazquez.

Wong has put his time in the minors after his trade over from the Dodgers in 2020. In that trade, he is now the second-best (and only) piece the Red Sox still have in that trade, behind Alex Verdugo. He has spent the last two seasons bouncing between AAA and the majors. Wong earned the promotion to the majors last season after a pretty good year behind the plate in Worcester. He carried a .839 OPS in 323 at-bats in AAA before getting the call-up for good to Boston after the DFA of Kevin Plawecki.

A few members of the pitching staff have complimented the work ethic Wong has brought in behind the plate. Josh Winckwoski spoke to Beyond the Monster after the season discussing the young catcher’s unique individual game plans for pitchers.

Josh Winckowski on working with Connor Wong last season: 'I think he does a really good job with individual game plans for pitchers'

The familiarity will surely be in his corner with the young Red Sox pitchers that spent time with him in AAA over the past two seasons. For the previous two years, Wong has been viewed as more of a call-up in case of injury on the major league roster. That will no longer be the case, as the team is looking for one of the two catchers on the roster to step up and lead this pitching staff. It’s not a mistake that current and even former members of the organization view Wong as a potential leader.

Chris Cotillo @ChrisCotillo

Thought it was interesting that Rich Hill cited Connor Wong as a potential leader for the Red Sox in '23 on @Bradfo_Sho this week. Wong's college teammate, Joe Davis, agreed. @FenwayRundown open.spotify.com/episode/7JQhBk…

The sample size is small in the MLB for Wong, but it is reassuring that he is thought of as highly as he is. 2023 is going to the deciding year, as he exceeded rookie limits last season and seems to have found himself in the position of sticking on the roster, or being passed on the depth chart.

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