Why did Alex Cora play Connor Wong at second base following Vaughn Grissom's latest injury?
After Vaughn Grissom suffered a right hamstring injury in the Red Sox 6-3 win against the Tigers on Saturday, Alex Cora opted to play Connor Wong at second base.
With Reese McGuire already starting at catcher, Cora had Romy Gonzalez and Wong as options to fill in for Grissom for the remainder of the game.
Wong played the final seven innings at second base after playing just 11 innings at the position in the majors heading into Saturday’s game.
Following the game, Cora was asked by reporters why he opted for Wong and not Gonzalez.
“We’ve got a few things going,” Cora said. “Like I said yesterday, we’re not going to share everything that is going on with us. But we needed Wong today at second.”
Cora indicated the team was playing with a short bench and that players were potentially banged up and unavailable. The bench included Wong, Gonzalez, Garrett Cooper, and Rob Refsnyder.
Grissom is expected to land on the injured list on Sunday following his injury. The Red Sox could opt to recall Bobby Dalbec in the short term or could look externally outside the organization.
Recently released infielder Joey Wendle could be an option if the Red Sox want to go outside the system to replace Grissom. The 34-year-old appeared in 18 games for the Mets this season, batting .222/.243/.250 batting line in 37 plate appearances. He also spent three days with the Braves this season before being outright to Triple-A Gwinnett and declining the assignment.
