Carlos

Narváez

Basallo has taken an absolute beating behind the plate in recent weeks while managing to play through a lingering right shoulder issue. The 22-year-old former top prospect was able to stay in for a couple innings after taking a foul tip directly off his catcher’s mask. He was 0-for-2 at the dish prior to departing. The hope is that his early exit was merely out of an abundance of caution, but he’ll presumably undergo evaluation for a possible concussion. It’ll be Carlos Narváez handling the catching duties in his absence.

Basallo has been struggling with the bat over the final month of the season as he attempts to play through a shoulder injury. With both Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand hitting well, there are no DH at-bats for Basallo, so he has simply been playing every other day as a catcher. That makes him hard to trust in fantasy leagues. Carlos Narvaez will catch and hit ninth on Monday.

No surprise here since Basallo has been playing through a lingering shoulder issue recently. The 22-year-old didn’t look comfortable on a couple swings during Tuesday’s contest, but managed to grind through the rest of the game. It’ll be Carlos Narváez handling the catching duties on Wednesday night in his absence.

Basallo was playing against lefties more often than not before his IL stint last month, but he’s started against just one of six since returning. It also might factor in these last two days that the Orioles want to take advantage of Carlos Narváez’s familiarity with his former Red Sox teammates. Plus, Basallo did suffer a minor hand injury last weekend.

It’s a routine day off for Basallo with Carlos Narváez handling the catching duties in this one. He’s gone 1-for-10 in three games since returning from the injured list earlier this week. It may take him a little time to knock off the rust, but he should be an impactful fantasy contributor playing almost everyday for the final five weeks of the season, especially since the Orioles have turned things around from an offensive standpoint.

Pozo was replaced by Carlos Narváez behind the dish after being struck by a swing from Twins slugger Josh Bell. He’s likely to undergo X-rays to determine whether he fractured anything.

There simply isn’t a spot for Narváez anymore in Boston with Rutschman taking over as the organization’s franchise backstop for at least the next couple years. The 27-year-old backstop solidified the club’s catching situation last year, mostly due to his strong defensive abilities, but was always viewed as more of a temporary stopgap as opposed to their long-term answer.

Apparently, the medicals were approved. The Orioles will get Anthony Eyanson (Boston’s No. 1 pitching prospect), 2025 first-rounder Kyson Witherspoon, Carlos Narváez and more, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Jacob Calvin Meyer. The Red Sox will have Rutschman under control through 2027. He’s still on the IL for now, but he’ll take over from Connor Wong as the starter when healthy. Jake Rogers is also in the deal going to Boston, so he’ll back up Wong for now. For Baltimore, the move clears the way for Samuel Basallo to spend the next several years as a starting catcher.

Narváez hit a towering 412-foot blast in the seventh inning over the Green Monster to increase Boston’s lead from 8-0 to 10-0. He also had a key role in an earlier rally by dropping down a squeeze bunt that catcher Nick Fortes wound up throwing into right field. There’s no fantasy value here and Narvaez has had a rough season, hitting .203/.269/.297 while stepping back into a smaller role after playing in 118 games last year. It was a nice game, though.

Narváez said the finger was “sideways” for a time, suggesting that he might have dislocated it. But he apparently won’t miss much time. Connor Wong could start Monday.