Back in early December of last year, the Red Sox traded away their thirteenth-ranked prospect, Minor League right-handed pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, and space in the international bonus pool to the Yankees in dire need of some catching depth, and got some from their rivals in twenty-six-year-old Carlos Narváez. Narvaez made his Major League debut for the Yankees in 2024, with four starts in the majors, going 3-for-13 (.231) in six games. The right-handed hitter also played in ninety-six games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .254 (85-for-335) with twenty doubles, eleven home runs, and fifty-eight RBIs while making fifty-eight starts as the catcher and, if needed, now that the Red Sox constantly need insurance, twelve at first base. The Venezuela native was initially signed by the Yankees as an international free agent on July 2, 2015, and now, ten years later, he is having an all-star rookie season as the Red Sox’s stable primary catcher.

WAR Leaders by Division — Catcher pic.twitter.com/tdGXGtCvBy

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 9, 2025

Following Narváez’s 2023 season, Baseball America recognized him as the best catching prospect in the Yankees system, including Austin Wells. Immediately when he started with Boston this past February, when he reported to Pitchers and Catchers in Fort Meyers, he began stunning fans with his defense towards the beginning of the season, winning the job of back-up catcher out of spring training over former Giants prospect, Blake Sabol. When the struggling Connor Wong fractured his pinky early in the season, Narváez immediately stepped in, and there were notable defensive improvements behind the plate. With elite-level framing and a strong arm that can quickly gun down a runner, he started to set himself above the league average. Currently, Narváez has +3 Framing Runs, which is tied for third in the MLB. He also has a +4 blocks above average, which is tied for fourth in the majors as well, and is tied for ninth in MLB at any position and fourth among catchers in Overall Fielding Run Value with +5.

He then began proving that he knows what it takes to get a clutch run across the plate with fantastic situational awareness at the plate. In his last month at the plate, he’s been slashing .330/.417/.530, which, other than his average, is just alright, but it’s the other offensive stats that are more impressive. Despite the Sox struggling to hit, Narvi has proven consistent at the plate with thirty-three hits, sixteen RBIs, four home runs, and one stolen base. Just this past weekend, in his return to Yankee Stadium, his home run was the turning point in the series finale that swung the game back into the Red Sox’s favor, coming just a little under a decade before the opposing organization drafted him. He swung for the fences in the top of the sixth, despite almost going against his gut and bunting (circling back to his situational hitting prowess). “I was in my head a little bit to bunt there, to be honest,” Narváez said to MLB during the postgame. “I talked to Huddy, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m just going to be aggressive,’ and then that happened. I found myself using a two-strike approach, just putting the ball in play. I’m happy I found some barrel and then we came back and won the game.”

Carlos Narváez puts the @RedSox in front with a 3-run blast! 💥 pic.twitter.com/uN5HmAyjvU

— MLB (@MLB) June 9, 2025

He truly has been a light in a dark time of the Red Sox’s 2025 season, giving several fans hope that he could be the next regular behind the plate. After the trade between rivals, Narvaáez has found himself thriving in every way now that we’re getting into the heart of the season. Having this rookie be a mainstay at clean-up, which is something they also haven’t seemed to keep throughout the season, losing their number four hitter in Casas, then Wilyer and Trevor Story going cold offensively, as well as Kristian Campbell, he has earned the spot just with the sheer consistency he’s held up, supporting Duran, Devers, and Bregman when he was healthy. He called the organization “awesome” and said he is “super thankful” for the franchise that gave him his first professional contract; however, he has been making himself a fan favorite, a potential all-star, and a possible Rookie of the Year.

Don’t forget to vote for him and the other potential all-stars for the organization, which you can do through MLB’s website. With his name up there amongst Cal Raleigh, Salvador Perez, and his former teammate, Austin Wells, Narváez has a strong case to potentially represent the Red Sox and the American League down in Atlanta.