FORT MYERS, Fla. – Although Alex Cora maintains it’s too early to debate participant roles, he made an exception Saturday.
“I feel Carlos earned the correct to be the starter,” the Purple Sox supervisor stated of Narváez, one among final season’s breakout stars.
Connor Wong is predicted to fill the opposite catching spot on the roster, although Cora envisions him enjoying greater than a conventional backup. This period of baseball requires it, the supervisor defined.
“The Pudge Rodriguezes of the world, the Yadi Molinas of the world, they don’t exist anymore,” Cora stated. “(Wong’s) a man we belief, he’s a very good defender. … All through the years, he’s up there with Trevor (Story) so far as like, the athlete, the jumps and every thing that goes into power and conditioning. He’s among the best athletes that we’ve got.”
Wong was Boston’s major catcher in ‘23 and ‘24 and was anticipated to be so once more in ‘25. When he suffered a fractured pinky in the course of the second week of the season, Narváez stepped in. By the point Wong returned lower than a month later, Narváez had cemented himself as greater than a backup backstop.
“We rushed (Wong) into motion,” supervisor Alex Cora stated Saturday. “Carlos took over.”
Grinding his means by means of a knee injury which he was told in July required surgery, Narváez refused to desert his group as they strove for a postseason berth. He performed 118 video games in 2025, together with 112 as catcher. He led the majors with 58 assists and 32 runners caught stealing, ranked within the 96th MLB percentile in Fielding Run Worth, and completed sixth in American League Rookie of the Yr voting.
Coaches, together with longtime Purple Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek, have been raving about Narváez’s preparedness and game-planning from the beginning.
“He exudes baseball,” Varitek instructed the Herald in mid-April ‘25. “His demeanor, and the way in which he goes about his enterprise. And he’s ready. He’s a pleasure to be round. He’s a pleasure.”
Narváez exceeded his supervisor’s expectations along with his bat and perseverance.
“He did a very good job controlling the zone, hitting the ball within the air to the pull-side, taking pictures the ball the opposite means after we wanted to,” Cora stated. “He was banged up the entire season. … And he did a tremendous job for us.”
Although initially shocked by the December ‘24 commerce, particularly after years within the Yankees group and his big-league debut with them months earlier, Narváez shortly embraced his new group and was embraced in flip. Some followers have even begun calling him ‘Captain.’ Narváez maintains the title belongs to Varitek, however he hopes to emulate his mentor by persevering with to show himself indispensable.
“The one factor I could say is I’d like to be a Purple Sox eternally,” Narváez instructed the Herald. “I want to retire with this group. We haven’t talked about it, hopefully that can come sooner or later.”
Contemporary off his rookie season, Narváez gained’t be eligible without spending a dime company till 2031. He hopes the Purple Sox will take into account him for an extension lengthy earlier than that day comes, however his focus is presently elsewhere.
“That’s one thing that I’m not being attentive to proper now,” the catcher stated. “After all, I’d adore it, however we’ve received totally different targets this 12 months, and I feel this 12 months goes to be essential for us, for everyone.
“We received our aim set. Like, particular person issues, private issues that can come sooner or later, and naturally I’m more than pleased and welcome if that occurs, however as of now, our aim is to get a World Collection ring this 12 months.”
Carlos Narváez reveals he delayed surgery for months to help Red Sox
