After signing Ranger Suárez to a five-year deal, it was clear that the Boston Red Sox had become a good fit for J.T. Realmuto. The veteran backstop is good friends with the southpaw and has aged relatively gracefully for a catcher.
Unfortunately, Realmuto opted to remain with the Philadelphia Phillies on a three-year deal, which was simply more than the Sox were willing to guarantee him as a backup to Carlos Narváez. Instead, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo, the team turned their attention toward Victor Caratini as a potential upgrade over Connor Wong.
Not even five minutes later, it was announced that Caratini was heading to the Minnesota Twins on a two-year contract. Even the most well-informed insiders have their swings and misses sometimes.
With this, hearing Victor Caratini remains a potential fit for the Red Sox. Boston has been poking around on catching help for months, dating back to the deadline, even with Narvaez in tow. https://t.co/2RdeWenSY1
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) January 16, 2026
Connor Wong appears to be Red Sox's backup catcher by default
Winning a job by default isn't exactly the most prideful thing in the world — unless you're Dr. Doofenshmirtz, of course — but Wong simply has too much upside relative to the rest of the catching market to be displaced between now and Opening Day.
Yes, he posted a career-low 39 wRC+ in 2025 and remains questionable defensively, but the 29-year-old backstop underwent offseason hand surgery to repair an injury that was bugging him all season. It's not a stretch to believe that he can get back to being the same player who poisted a 95 wRC+ between 2023-24.
Even if you think he's not due for some progression, the options with Realmuto and Caratini off the market are slim. The best players still available at the position in free agency are old friends Reese McGuire and Christian Vázquez, but the former profiles best as a No. 3 catcher (as he was with the Cubs last year) while the latter has been dismal at the plate since leaving Boston back in 2022.
Maybe signing Caratini makes Ryan Jeffers available from Minnesota, but he'd cost more in a trade than you'd like to give up for a backup catcher. It's just a position that's always in high demand, and it has become exceedingly difficult to roster two above-average backstops at the same time.
Thanks to the presence of Narváez, this isn't a huge need for the Red Sox, but it is telling that they were involved in the markets of Caratini and Realmuto until the end. Wong may be the default backup on Opening Day, but if he continues to struggle, the team will almost certainly hunt for a replacement by the trade deadline.