Latest news with #Narvaez
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Recent Mets Signing Bust Released by MLB Bottom-Feeder
The New York Mets signed 2021 All-Star catcher Omar Narvaez to a $15 million deal in December of 2022, but the veteran backstop failed to live up to that contract and has done very little to extend his MLB career since. Narvaez stuck with the Mets for most of 2023 and 2024, batting a cumulative .192 over 77 major league appearances. Advertisement After a 22-home run campaign with the Seattle Mariners in 2019 and another 17 homers throughout his Milwaukee Brewers tenure, Narvaez only contributed 2 HRs and 12 RBI with the Mets, immediately going down as a total flop of a signing. Former New York Mets catcher Omar Narvaez facing the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field in Penner-Imagn Images On May 20, Narvaez's baseball career continued to take a turn for the worse, as the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox (the Charlotte Knights) announced that they had released the 33-year-old catcher. This update came to light within a flurry of roster moves. Narvaez spent 4 games with the White Sox's major league roster in 2025, and he actually played reasonably well. Batting .286 with 3 RBI and an on-base percentage of .400. Advertisement In the minors, however, Narvaez struggled mightily. Over 15 games with Charlotte, Narvaez was batting .218, with 2 HR, 5 RBI, and 13 strikeouts compared to 6 walks. He had a Triple-A OPS of .663. Narvaez also logged 3 appearances with the Double-A affiliate Birmingham Barons, batting .250 with 2 RBI and an OPS of .708. Turning 34 years old in February, it's unclear how much Narvaez has left in the tank. His MLB production fell off a cliff immediately after joining the Mets for the 2023 season, and now he's just been cut by the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox — whose record currently ranks second worst in baseball at 15-34. Related: Carlos Mendoza Had Words After Mets' Third Straight Loss Related: Mets Owner Steve Cohen Sends Clear Message After Third Straight Loss
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Red Sox World Series Champion Sends Catching Message to Coaching Staff
The Boston Red Sox have had more issues than just the first base position over the past few weeks. Defensively and offensively, the Red Sox could be better at the catcher position, and it isn't exactly an easy fix. However, a former Red Sox World Series champion thinks Carlos Narvaez should be the full-time starting catcher, adding that he needs to play at least five times a week. Advertisement 'He needs to play five days a week,' Will Middlebrooks said on 'Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks.' 'Defensively, he is a better player. That shows in the metrics. He's arguably one of the best defensive catchers based off the metrics in baseball — him and Williams Contreras. As far as defensive runs saved, blocking, framing, which is still important with now ABS system.' Narvaez is probably the best with what the Red Sox have to work with, but that isn't necessarily saying much. He's started to swing about a bit higher of a level over the past week, posting a .271 batting average, compared to .210 on May 1. Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is seen before a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Gorski-Imagn Images However, Narvaez, who played for the New York Yankees during the 2024 season, isn't an elite offensive player. Advertisement The issue, however, is that even if the Red Sox want to find a better catcher at the deadline, there aren't many options available. There isn't a surplus of good hitting catchers in Major League Baseball, and with the limited number there are, most of the time, teams don't want to get rid of them. The Red Sox could find a way to make Narvaez a long-term option, but they'll have to hope it works out in the way that Middlebrooks thinks.
CBS News
11-04-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Catcher Yasmani Grandal reportedly joins Red Sox on minor-league deal
The Boston Red Sox are adding some much-needed depth at catcher, reportedly signing former All-Star Yasmani Grandal to a minor-league deal. The Red Sox needed to add another catcher after losing Connor Wong to a fractured finger earlier this week. Robert Murray of Fansided was first to report Boston's pact with Grandal, who played 72 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. It will likely take some time for Grandal to get Major-League ready after he missed all of Spring Training. But the 36-year-old will give Boston a solid option behind the plate to back up current starting catcher Carlos Narvaez. Grandal is a switch-hitting catcher with 13 seasons of professional experience, after he made his Major League debut for the San Diego Padres in 2012. He has also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox and Pirates. He was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 2015 and again for the Brewers in 2019. The 2019 season was Grandal's best in the Majors, as he finished the year slashing .246/.380/.468 with a career-high 28 homers and 77 RBI to go along 26 doubles and 109 walks. He turned in an .848 OPS over 153 games that year. Grandal hit .228 with nine home runs, 10 doubles, 27 RBI and 26 runs scored over his 72 games with the Pirates last season. For his career, he's averaged 101 games played per season with a .236 average, 15 homers and 46 RBI. Behind the plate, Grandal is known as an excellent framer, which could help a struggling Boston pitching staff. Grandal was actually initially drafted by Boston in the 27th round of the 2007 MLB Draft, but didn't sign with the team and ended up playing for the University of Miami. He was a first-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2010, taken 12th overall. Narvaez is currently Boston's everyday catcher, and the team called up Blake Sabol from Triple-A Worcester following Wong's injury on Monday. Narvaez is 6-for-25 with three doubles and four RBI in his eight games to start the season, while Sabol is 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts in his two games played. The Red Sox also have 31-year-old veteran Seby Zavala in Worcester, who has spent parts of five seasons in the Majors with the White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Seattle Mariners. Zavala is just 3-for-25 for Worcester this season.
CBS News
08-04-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Red Sox catcher Connor Wong lands on IL with fractured pinky
The Boston Red Sox not only lost Monday night's game to the Blue Jays, which snapped a five-game winning streak , but the team also lost catcher Connor Wong to an injury. The Boston backstop was hurt in the first inning, and is now set to miss an unknown amount of time. Wong was injured just four batters into a chilly and wet night at Fenway Park, when he was hit on the left hand by George Springer's bat in the top of the first. The play resulted in a catcher's interference and a broken left pinky finger for Wong, who finished the inning before he was replaced by backup Carlos Narvaez. "He has a small fracture in the pinky area," Boston manager Alex Cora said after the team's 6-2 loss. "He's going to the IL. How long, we don't know. But just, a late swing got him good. So we're gonna have to make a move." The Red Sox were counting on Wong to be behind the plate for the bulk of their games this year, after he caught 126 games in each of the last two seasons. It's not a massive blow to the team, but Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow may have to get creative at catcher for as long as Wong is sidelined. Narvaez will take over as Boston's everyday catcher, though that may be asking a lot as the 26-year-old has just 11 Major League games under his belt. But he's played well both behind the plate and at the plate to start the season for Boston, going 6-for-14 in his first four games before going 0-for-4 after taking over for Wong on Monday night. But after Narvaez, things are a little murky behind the plate for the Red Sox. (We'll just point out now that no one is second-guessing Boston's decision to trade away top catching prospect Kyle Teel, who was part of the package sent to Chicago that brought Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox. The Red Sox have an ace in Crochet, and can manage behind the plate for the time being.) The likeliest candidate to be promoted and take over as Boston's backup catcher is Blake Sabol, who is the only other backstop on the team's 40-man roster. The 27-year-old played in 121 games for the San Francisco Giants over the last two years, and is 5-for-20 with two doubles and four RBI for the Worcester Red Sox this season. Boston could also promote 31-year-old Seby Zavala, who has played in 194 games in the big leagues over the last five seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Seattle Mariners. He's hit just .205 for his career and is hitting just .111 in his five games with the WooSox this season, but is considered the better defensive option behind the plate. Zavala isn't on the Boston 40-man roster, but the Red Sox have an open spot after Monday's trade of Quinn Priester to the Milwaukee Brewers .
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
NYPD K-9 handler's ‘best friend' named after dad — who was killed in line of duty when she was 9
NYPD K-9 Officer Katarina Narvaez became a cop to honor her dad who was killed in the line of duty in Brooklyn — and his memory lives on right by her side, every day at work. Narvaez, 37, was just 9 years old when her best friend in the world — Lt. Frederico Narvaez — was fatally shot while responding to a domestic incident in Flatbush on Oct. 18, 1996. Twenty-two years later, when she joined the K-9 team of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit, she met her new best friend, a wire-haired pointer/Labrador mix pooch. So she named him Freddy. 'I feel honored that they let me name him after my dad,' Narvaez said. 'I wasn't sure if they were going to allow that. It meant a lot to me when they said that I could.' Now she hangs out all the time with with Freddy, an 8-year-old specialist in finding guns, and anything that can explode, including potassium chlorate, C4, dynamite and other compounds. She and Freddy showed off his impressive sniffer Wednesday to The Post at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Red Hook, where ESU canines are based. Navaez led Freddy toward three abandoned vehicles where another cop hid a fake pistol dipped in gunpowder. Once released from his collar, Freddy excitedly sniffed around the first two vehicles but came up empty. When he got to the third car, however, he slowed down and zeroed in on the right front bumper. Then, he sat down – which means he hit pay dirt. ''Freddy has a great nose,' said ESU Detective and trainer Christina Orlando. After Freddy found the gun, Narvaez threw him a rope — his favorite toy — as a reward. 'Such a good dog!' she cooed. Narvaez still gets emotional when she talks about her dad, who was working in the 70th Precinct in Flatbush when he answered a call of a woman being stalked. When Narvaez arrived after calling for backup, career criminal Harvey Richardson, 61, turned and fired, striking him in the face as he exited his patrol car before he could get off a shot. Responding cops shot Richardson dead. 'He was a great dad,' she said, choking up. 'He was just an awesome guy to be around. I looked forward to Mondays because that was his RDO (regular day off). I could just go home after school and we'd just hang out for the rest of the day.' Narvaez learned about K-9 cops after her dad was killed. 'When I was a kid and found out you could work with dogs, I was like, 'I can be a police officer and work with dogs?'' she recalled. ''Come on! Sign me up.'' Narvaez dropped out of Hunter College after being accepted into the NYPD and has been an officer for 12 years, starting out in her dad's old 70 Precinct. 'I feel like the primary goal of a police officer is to help people and I really enjoy doing that,' she said. 'And that's what made me want to be a cop.' When she was moved to the Emergency Services Unit and paired with Freddy, she was ecstatic. Soon, Freddy will be staying home while Navaez, who is married, is at work. NYPD canines retire at 9, so she's about to be paired with a new dog. 'It's scary,' said the cop, who lives with Freddy 24/7. 'This guy's my best friend. He comes with me everywhere . . . I don't know what I'm gonna do.'
