2 days ago
How's ex-Red Sox prospect traded to Yankees for Carlos Narváez doing?
The Red Sox and Yankees will play for the first time this season on Friday at Yankee Stadium.
The AL East rivals don't often make trades with each other, although deals between the two sides have been more common this decade.
Advertisement
Boston and New York traded with each other only twice from 1997-2020. But they have completed four trades since 2021. The latest came at the Winter Meetings in December when Boston acquired catcher Carlos Narváez for pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and $250,000 in international bonus pool space.
MassLive ran a feature Thursday on Narváez who discussed the Yankees being the only team to offer him a contract when he was an amateur catcher in Venezuela.
It initially looked like only a minor trade for a depth catcher who would compete to be the backup catcher on the 2025 Opening Day roster. Narváez not only won a spot on the Opening Day roster, but he's now overtaken Connor Wong as Boston's starting catcher.
The 26-year-old is hitting .288 with a .356 on-base percentage, .456 slugging percentage, .812 OPS, five home runs, 12 doubles, 19 RBIs, 24 runs, 17 walks and 43 strikeouts in 47 games (177 plate appearances).
Advertisement
He's also been one of the league's top defenders behind the plate. He's in the 97th percentile in blocks above average (6), 94th percentile in framing (4) and 81st percentile in caught stealing above average (2).
It looks like the Yankees also did well in the trade. Rodriguez-Cruz, a 21-year-old righty who reaches the upper-90s with his fastball, has made nine starts for High-A Hudson Valley this season. He is 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 57 strikeouts and 22 walks in 48 innings. He's held opponents to a .177 batting average.
Lefties are batting .140 against him while righties are hitting .213.
He had 19 swings and misses in a game April 25 against Asheville, leading all High-A pitchers in whiffs that day. He had 17 in a start against Wilmington on April 18.
Advertisement
Boston initially drafted Rodriguez-Cruz in the fourth round (105th overall) out of Leadership Christian in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Baseball America ranked him the Yankees' No. 16 overall prospect entering 2025.
Narváez said Wednesday, 'Super proud to wear this uniform now with Boston. At the same time, I always say that I'm super thankful for what they (the Yankees) did for me. I grew up with them. It was nine years with them. So I'm thankful for what they did for me but at the same time, I've got a new role with a new team. The amazing thing is it's Boston. So super pumped for this trip (to New York).'
BETTING: The total for Friday's Yankees versus Red Sox game is set at 9 over on Caesars. If you're a new sports bettor and want to learn how to bet, be sure to check out our Massachusetts sports betting guide.
More Red Sox coverage
Read the original article on MassLive.
