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Alex Cora: Red Sox catcher’s knee was ‘banged up’ the entire 2025 season
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- Alex Cora: Red Sox catcher’s knee was ‘banged up’ the entire 2025 season
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez underwent a left knee meniscectomy right after the 2025 season ended.
Manager Alex Cora revealed Saturday that Narváez’s knee began to bother him during Boston ’s third game and his first start behind the plate, March 29 at Texas .
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“He was banged up the whole season,” Cora said here at JetBlue Park. “We were even talking about it. He made a throw in Texas ... to first base and he felt it. It’s something that has been going on with him for a while. So finally, he took care of it. He feels great, but he was banged up the whole season. He did an amazing job for us.”
The Venezuelan catcher missed three straight games Aug. 6-9 but avoided the IL his entire rookie season.
He finished tied for fifth among Red Sox players in fWAR (2.7) . He was one of the top defensive catchers in the big leagues, finishing in the 98th percentile in caught stealing above average (9), 96th percentile in fielding run value (12), 88th percentile in blocks above average (6), 87th percentile in framing (5) and 80th percentile in pop time (1.92).
His offensive numbers tailed off in the second half. He batted .273 with a .347 on-base percentage, .439 slugging percentage and .786 OPS in 73 games during the first half but just .187/.233/.387/.619 in 45 games during the second half.
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The 952 innings he caught during the regular season were a career-high, 386 ⅔ innings more than in any other season in his professional career.
“He did a good job controlling the zone, hitting the ball in the air to the pull side, shooting the ball the other way when we needed to,” Cora said.
Narváez again will be Boston’s starting catcher in 2026. Connor Wong is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster and the favorite to be Narváez’s backup. But the Red Sox have five non-roster invitee catchers in camp, including two catchers with major league experience.
Matt Thaiss has appeared in 305 major league games and Jason Delay has appeared in 134 major league games.
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“We always want guys to come in and try to push our guys to get their jobs,” Cora said. “That’s the nature of the business. Connor is healthy, which is important.”
Wong also underwent surgery in the offseason to remove a carpal boss from his right hand. It was a hand issue he dealt with for years, not just in 2025 .
Cora said Wong is “a lot stronger” this season.
“He’s a guy we trust,” Cora said. “He’s a good defender. He became a good defender last year. Offensively, two years ago he was really good. So we’ll see how he plays out. But Connor is a good baseball player.”
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