Carlos

Narváez

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.

Connor Wong replaced him. The Red Sox also have Mickey Gasper as a catcher option, so they wouldn’t need to make a move for another catcher if Narváez needs a couple of days off. Anything more than that, though, and he’ll probably land on the IL. Matt Thaiss or Jason Delay could get the call in that case.

Wong appears to have avoided major injury after rolling his ankle on a bizarre-looking play during the eighth inning of Wednesday’s win over the Phillies. He was replaced by Carlos Narváez behind the plate in the ninth inning of the contest. It doesn’t sound like a massive concern.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters that Narváez is fine after being hit by a pitch during Friday’s contest against the Rays. However, he’s going to get some extra time off to recover with Mickey Gasper behind the plate in this one.

Narváez tagged Yankees’ right-hander Cam Schlittler for a go-ahead 383-foot (102.3 mph EV) solo shot in the fifth inning that gave the Red Sox a 2-1 advantage. That would wind up being the extent of their offense. He struck out in each of his other two plate appearances in the ballgame. For the season, the 27-year-old backstop is slashing .245/.273/.340 with one homer and two RBI in his 56 plate appearances.

It hasn’t been a great start to the season for Narváez, who is slashing .234/.265/.277 on the season. The RBI today was his first RBI of the season. That said, he does have a 52 percent hard-hit rate and a league-average zone contact rate. He has just been chasing out of the zone more than he did last year. He should only be on the radar in two-catcher leagues, but we should see a boost in performance coming.