Apr 3, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell (28) greeted by catcher Carlos Narvaez (75) during the second inning following his two run home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
The catching position has become something of a question mark on an otherwise loaded Boston Red Sox roster.
Boston believed they had their catcher of the future in top prospect Kyle Teel, but they had to give him up in the trade to get Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox. It looked as though they were putting their faith in Connor Wong by doing so, but perhaps that's not fully the case.
Wong had a miniature breakout season in 2024, but he still slumped in the second half, both on offense and defense. And early in the 2025 season, he's been lost at the plate, which may be opening the door for another trade acquisition to take his place.
On the same day in December as the Crochet deal, the Red Sox acquired catcher Carlos Narváez in a deal that sent minor-leaguer Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz to the rival New York Yankees. Narváez only had 13 big-league at-bats to his name after eight years in the Yankees organization.
After winning the backup catcher competition in spring training, though, Narváez may be starting to make his case to assume a bigger role, perhaps even the majority of the Red Sox's innings behind the plate if early trends continue.
Obviously, it's been a very small sample so far. But Wong is 1-for-19 at the plate, and the eye test matches the results. He has six strikeouts, and though a couple of his outs have been hard-hit, he's not showing the bat-to-ball skills that enabled him to bat .280 with a .333 on-base percentage last year.
Narváez, meanwhile, is 4-for-10 with a double, which was his first career extra-base hit. He's started each of Boston's last two games and he's looked a lot more comfortable in the batter's box than Wong has, and coming into the season, he was also regarded as the better defender.
Obviously, it's still early. The Red Sox will need both of their catchers to play key roles, assuming both stay healthy and the team doesn't bring in a more established star via trade.
But someone has to be the starter, and though Wong may have earned a few more cracks at the job, Narváez could eventually take over if the two players continue on their current trajectories.
