Adley Rutschman, the centerpiece of arguably the biggest trade at the 2026 deadline, made his Boston Red Sox debut on August 11. The club had some tough roster choices to make before he could be activated, however.
It took hours for the Red Sox to make their corresponding move, but they eventually decided on designating catcher Jake Rogers for assignment. Rogers came to Boston as part of the Rutschman trade just four days after the Baltimore Orioles traded for him from his longtime team, the Detroit Tigers. Rogers wasTarik Skubal's personal catcher for a time.
Rather than DFA'ing Rogers, the Red Sox could've optioned Connor Wong to make space on the active roster (Rutschman was already on the 40-man roster after some of the Sox's deadline day moves). Wong has one minor league option remaining on his contract and the Red Sox could've sent him to Triple-A while maintaining Rogers as depth.
Rutschman has already been on the injured list three times this season (once was with a concussion, a freak injury after he was hit in the head with an errant throw) and he only played 90 games in 2025 due to two separate stints on the IL with oblique strains. Rogers would've been a solid backup plan in the event of another injury to Rutschman, which haven't exactly been infrequent in the last two seasons.
Why the Red Sox stuck with Connor Wong as Adley Rutschman's backup instead of Jake Rogers
But the main reason the Red Sox wanted to upgrade behind the plate was to improve the offense. Carlos Narváez regressed severely from last season (.180/.253/.258 slash line over 70 games) and Wong's offense is slightly below average (.247/.333/.367 slash line over 60 games). But he's still had more offensive success than Rogers, who's batting .183/.290/.327 over 42 games this season. Wong's has a better history of success at the plate this year and every hit counts in the Sox's streaky lineup.
The Red Sox aren't shy on catching depth without Rogers. They still have Mickey Gasper and Nathan Hickey in Worcester, as well as 31-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher, Jason Delay. Gasper has flashed the best of his offensive abilities in the major leagues earlier this season and Delay is an excellent defender. Anthony Seigler came up through the minor leagues mostly as a catcher and Red Sox interim Chad Tracy has already said he would use him behind the plate in the event of an emergency.
Rogers had a great few games as a member of the Red Sox — he went 3-for-6 with two doubles, two RBI, two walks and two strikeouts over three appearances. But his offensive history doesn't move the needle and a playoff push demands the best offense possible. Believe it or not, that includes Wong as the backup to Rutschman.
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