Red Sox's Connor Wong undergoes hand surgery

Red Sox catcher Connor Wong went under the knife for a right hand carpal boss excision. The procedure, which the team described as “successful,” was performed earlier this morning by Dr. Matthew Leibman at Mass General Brigham Hospital. The Red Sox have not yet provided further details about the timeline for Wong’s recovery.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a carpal boss is a benign “bony overgrowth or lump” found on the back of one’s hand or wrist. The condition doesn’t always cause pain, but the fact that Wong had his carpal boss removed suggests it was causing him at least some degree of discomfort. Most people return to “typical activity” within two to six weeks following a carpal boss excision. While that timeline could be longer for a professional athlete, it seems likely Wong will be back to full strength by the time he reports for training camp next spring.

The 29-year-old, who bats and throws right-handed, spent four weeks on the injured list early in the season after fracturing his left pinky finger. However, this is the first time the Red Sox have mentioned any sort of issue with his dominant hand. Wong started behind the dish on the final day of the regular season, and while he did not appear in the playoffs, that decision seemingly had more to do with his poor performance all season than any injury concerns. As for how much his poor performance might have had to do with the carpal boss? Wong can only hope it played a significant factor and that having it removed will help him rebound in 2026.

After significantly outperforming his expected stats (en route to a .280/.333/.425 slash line) last season, Wong saw his luck take a sharp turn for the worse. Through 63 games in 2025, he hit below .200 with zero home runs. The 42-point gap between his wOBA and xwOBA is a good sign for Wong going forward, but that said, even his xwOBA would have ranked him among the bottom 3% of hitters in the sport if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. He grounded into seven double plays, drove in just seven runs, and finished with -0.7 FanGraphs WAR. It certainly didn’t help that, once again, he posted negative defense metrics across the board.

Wong wasn’t Boston’s only backstop who spent time at Mass General Brigham recently. Carlos Narváez, who usurped Wong as the team’s starting catcher this year, went in for a left knee meniscectomy yesterday. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow previously described the procedure as a “cleanup,” clarifying that he expects Narváez to be back at full strength by spring training. Narvaez will presumably slot in as Boston’s primary catcher for 2026, while Wong’s status with the organization is up in the air. He is projected to earn $1.6MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility, and after the season he just had, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see the Red Sox non-tender him instead.