BOSTON — When the Red Sox included top catching prospect Kyle Teel in the blockbuster trade that netted them ace Garrett Crochet from the White Sox on December 11, it appeared to clear the runway for Connor Wong to cement himself as the club’s catcher of the future.
Looking back, it seems like Wong’s sense of peace really only lasted four hours and 20 minutes.
The Red Sox announced the Crochet blockbuster at 3:35 p.m. ET on the final day of the Winter Meetings in Dallas. With most of the baseball world in the sky — and fans still breaking down every aspect of the Crochet deal — another trade came down at 7:55 p.m. Boston had landed little-known catcher Carlos Narváez (who had appeared in six big league games last year) from the Yankees for former fourth-round pick Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and $250,000 in international bonus money.
The initial reaction from some was that the Red Sox shouldn’t have chipped in and helped the Yankees with international money as teams ramped up their pursuits of Roki Sasaki. Little was made about Narváez, who entered spring training in a competition with Blake Sabol to be the backup catcher. To say Narváez has exceeded expectations since Opening Day would be an understatement.
Narváez, whose solo homer late Tuesday opened the scoring in a 2-0 victory, is now hitting .280 with seven doubles, five homers and an .812 OPS in 35 games. He leads all major league catchers in defensive runs saved (8), is third in baseball among catchers in terms of WAR (via FanGraphs), is second among American League qualified rookies in OPS, slugging percentage (.466) and is fourth in hits (33) and RBIs (tied with teammate Kristian Campbell at 15).
The Red Sox, out of nowhere, might have an all-around breakout star behind the plate, and he’s getting rewarded with playing time. Though manager Alex Cora continues to insist Narváez and Wong are in a timeshare behind the plate, Narváez has started six of the last seven for the Red Sox — and nine of the last 12. His teammates think he’s quite deserving of such a workload, too.
“He’s a hard-worker. He prepares,” said third baseman Alex Bregman. “Obviously, elite defender. I want to say he might be leading the league in defense behind the plate. And also a guy who can throw a good at-bat at you, a guy who can leave the ballpark. A guy who can hit for extra bases. Late in the game, I feel like we’ve seen, time and time again, him putting together a solid at-bat. It might end in a walk. It might end in a single. Or it might be a homer that puts us in the lead.”
On Tuesday, it was the latter as Narváez broke a scoreless tie with a solo homer off Clay Holmes in the bottom of the fifth inning. An inside pitch landed in the first row of the Monster seats, 366 feet away.
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“That was big, especially against Holmes…,” said Narváez. “I just wanted to put the ball in play and get it under a little bit because it’s a big sinker. I’m glad we’ve got the Green Monster there and it’s a homer.”
The Red Sox acquired Narváez knowing he had defensive upside and were encouraged by a strong Venezuelan Winter League performance in which he posted a 1.118 OPS in 24 games. But few could have envisioned him getting this hot at the plate. The 26-year-old has been on a prolonged heater, hitting .432 with a 1.188 OPS over his last 12 games since May 4… and .338 with five homers, 11 RBIs, eight walks, three doubles and a .997 OPS since April 22.
“I always say my focus is behind the plate,” said Narváez. “But if I’m able to that, I’m more than happy to contribute to the team both ways.
“That’s all the work we do before games. The preparation, the pitcher, everything is important. It’s paying off so I’m super happy for it.”
It’s too early to say whether or not Narváez is Boston’s catcher of the future, but with Wong (.156 average, .356 OPS) struggling and there being very little in the way of upper-level catching prospects in the system, it’s not hard to imagine. For now, though, the Red Sox are reaping the benefits of a minor trade acquisition coming up big.
“Just a good, quality at-bat and he’s swinging at the right ones,” said Cora. “He’s not pitching too many pitches and he’s doing an outstanding job.”
