Red Sox Addition Earned Bigger Role Despite Connor Wong Return

The Boston Red Sox entered the offseason with some questions at the catcher position.

Connor Wong was preparing for another season as the team's No. 1 catcher, but the backup posiiton was up in the air. The Red Sox cut ties with Reese McGuire, who is now in the Chicago Cubs organization.

In response, the Red Sox went out and acquired 26-year-old backstop Carlos Narváez from the New York Yankees in exchange for minor-league pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and international signing bonus pool money. He has done nothing but impress in his short stint in the organization. He earned the backup job out of Spring Training and has stepped up in Wong's absence due to a fracture in his hand.

So far this season, he has appeared in 23 games and is slashing .210/.264/.370 with three homers, eight RBIs, and 11 runs scored. On top of his offensive output, he has arguably been the best defensive catcher in baseball. Clearly, his performance has impressed and MassLive.com's Christopher Smith recently shared that when Wong returns the duo will split time rather than a clear No. 1 and No. 2 from manager Alex Cora.

"Catcher Carlos Narváez has played strong defense with Wong sidelined. Cora has indicated Narváez and Wong will split time instead of Wong being the No. 1 catcher and Narváez being the backup," Smith said. "Narváez ranks in the 100th percentile among major league catchers in blocks above average (5). He’s in the 88th percentile in both framing and fielding run value...

"Carlos is going to play. He’s going to play,” Cora said as transcribed by Smith. "So we’ll figure out how we’re going to do it. But he’s done an amazing job. Right now he’s the best defensive catcher in the big leagues. He’s putting good at-bats (together). That’s how it works, right? We’re excited to have them both whenever Connor gets here."

It was shared on Friday afternoon by the team that Wong was activated and Sabol was sent to the minors.

"The RedSox today reinstated catcher Connor Wong from the 10-Day Injured List. To make room, the club optioned catcher Blake Sabol to Triple-A Worcester," the team announced.