Much of the Red Sox’s offense has been in flux over the last 12 months: Rafael Devers was traded, Alex Bregman walked, Wilson Contreras and Caleb Durbin were acquired, while the infield platoon was refreshed. The combination of moves sounds awful for offensive pop, it but does offer more stability defensively. Meanwhile, he team decided to stick to what they know at the catcher position. Let’s evaluate!
The Starter: Carlos Narvaez
There’s a lot to like about Carlos Narvaez, who finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting. But before recognizing Narvaez as a potential fantastic defensive catcher in due time, I must put my Scrooge hat on — because it wouldn’t be one of my articles if I didn’t — and state that he has some work to do at the plate. But I’ll also remain optimistic and state that he can probably do that work.
Narv slashed .241/.306/.419 last year for an OPS of .726, which ranked 18th in baseball amongst catchers, and his Savant page looks like a Frozen movie. But his career is still in his infancy, with still under 500 career plate appearances. The catcher bell curve was more steady than usual, meaning Narvaez was within striking distance from being an average catcher at the plate. Whether this is more noticeable on a team that doesn’t have the same offensive pop remains to be seen, but I’m willing to wait.
In retaining Carlos Narvaez as a starting catcher, the Red Sox have something that only a few teams in baseball can claim: a Gold Glove finalist behind the dish. Folks may want to point to Carlos Narvaez ending a game with a walk-off interference for just the second time in league history (and some of the folks may be in the room with us right now) as proof that he’s got some flaws as a defensive catcher. But, even though the Red Sox led the Major Leagues last year with nine catcher’s interference calls, the proof to the contrary is in the pudding.
As I referenced when Narvaez was nominated for the award that Detroit’s Dillon Dingler definitely dutifully (okay, sorry, got carried away with the alliteration) eventually won, the 27-year-old Narvaez was ranked in the 85th percentile in framing. All of these pitches below were called strikes, which is huge when an inning starts getting a little hairy. Here’s a visual on some of those pitches. Good framing keeps pitchers confident, controlled and, best case scenario, well rested. Now the ABS challenging system may put all this to rest, but remember that teams also need to be diligent with when they call for challenges, and managers may ask to be more strategic and only challenge defensively. For now, framing and taking away strikes is a huge strength of Narvaez’s.
Narvaez also led all catchers with 32 runners caught stealing, and his 90th percentile pop time proves his arm and reflexes are speedy. In time, Narvaez. may just become one of the most reputable defensive catchers in the game. And the best part of all is that he cost the Red Sox nothing and is likely ours to enjoy for at least five years.
The Backup: Connor Wong
The last remaining piece of the Mookie Betts trade, Connor Wong looked like he had it all in 2023 and 2024. He was quick, had power, and looked like a pretty good defensive catcher. The first two of those took a huge step backward last season, resulting in Narvaez taking his starting job. It took until the summer for Wong to record his second RBI of the season. His OPS was just .500 and he batted below the Mendoza line for the first time.
Even Wong’s defensive prowess dipped, as he dropped to 26th in catcher framing. But there was a curious anecdote about Aroldis Chapman’s world-renowned fastball that perhaps sparked some faith in Wong’s ability as a collaborative catcher. Wong reportedly told Chapman he can try to actually locate and place his fastball, resulting in him having a career year at 37 years of age. Remember, again, that Chapman’s fastball has topped out at nearly 106 miles per hour, that Chapman ha been in the Cy Young conversation at times, and that he could end his career with over 400 career saves. Here’s what Narvaez had to say about it:
“It’s kind of crazy, bro,” Narváez said. “Because I mean, when you ask a catcher, you want to call a fastball away, fastball in, fastball up and in, especially with the PitchCom. So, now, I mean he’s been in the league for a while and he’s just saying like ‘Okay, I’m actually locating my fastball now. In when I want it and away when I want it.’ It’s like ‘Okay, I didn’t know why you didn’t before but let’s do it.’ He’s pitching with conviction now and every pitch has an intent. It was a big adjustment for him, bro.”
The Red Sox brought Wong back on a 1-year, 1.375 million dollar deal without going to arbitration. He’s under team control for three more seasons, but if Wong isn’t producing either offensively or defensively it’ll be easy to say goodbye one day, though it will be a departure where that meme of Wolverine holding a picture with the words “2024 Connor Wong” comes to mind.
I’d also be remiss to not acknowledge the other options in the room, but these aren’t real options in my mind, nor should they be in anyone’s. Willson Contreras has almost 1000 career games logged behind the dish, but at this stage of his career, especially seeing as he was acquired in a trade for capital, he needs to preserve his health for the potential of this team. Anthony Seigler has also caught in his career (although just once in the Majors) but this is another break-glass-in-case-of-real-emergency option. There’s also old friend Christian Vazquez still in free agency, but his best years are well behind him.
The Minor League Depth
This team has notably been incredibly astute with depth signings this offseason. Matt Thaiss is probably most teams’ backup backup catcher in terms of experience, as he has 305 games in the bigs including 60 games in 2025 where he batted .218/.349/.288. Bbut as you can see, there’s no power to speak of and he’ll almost certainly be heading to Polar Park as the team has already assigned him to AAA. Nate Baez was brought in on a minor league deal. So, too, was another old friend (and native New Englander) in Mickey Gasper, who returns to the organization with his first Major League hit – and home run! – in tow from his time with the Twins. Jason Delay is another depth signing with Major League experience albeit with no seasons over replacement level yet (but he can slug!). Ronald Rosario sent one out of the park in the Northeastern game but hasn’t progressed past Double-A yet, and my own personal favorite WooSox player (if Nick Sogard stays on the Major League roster), Nate Hickey, hit 17 home runs in Worcester last season but, realistically, will be more of a first baseman, as he spends much more time there. Password’s little brother Johanfran remains in the organization following a promotion in 2025 and shares the power tool. And, finally, Brooks Brannon might surge up to Worcester as he’s been promoted once in each of the last four seasons and certainly looks viable at the plate.
Fangraphs Projections
Around the AL East
Throughout the Blue Jays’ run to nearly dethroning the Dodgers as World Series champions, it was evident that Alejandro Kirk is one of the best catchers in baseball. The Yankees’ Austin Wells, like Narvaez, is an excellent pitch framer in his own right with more Major League experience and a solidified starting spot. Adley Ruschmann had a down year but he remains the Orioles’ starter, with Samuel Basallo waiting in the wings, complete with long-term deal in hand. I’d probably slot Narvaez and Wong fourth. The Rays remain the only team I’d put definitively under Narvaez, marching out a tandem of Hunter Feduccia and Nick Fortes; that position will likely be a pain point for Tampa as the season grows long.
Ultimately, I feel great with Narvaez being the catcher of the present and the future, and we can at least pencil him in as part of the the next generation of winning in this organization.
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