Red Sox Could Acquire $73 Million Catcher Without Trading Trevor Story

Should the Boston Red Sox make it a priority to upgrade at the catcher position before July’s trade deadline?

Connor Wong wasn’t hitting before he got injured, and Wong’s replacement, Carlos Narváez — while he’s shown flashes — hasn’t been productive at the plate, either. Entering Thursday, the 26-year-old Narváez was slashing .203/.266/.322 with one home run and five RBI.

Narváez has received a lot of love from fans and seems to have equity with Alex Cora, too, meaning there could be somewhat of a “catcher controversy” brewing in Boston between Narváez and Wong.

But here’s a thought — what if the Red Sox decided to solve the catcher issue by simply acquiring a superior player to both Narváez and Wong?

Sean Murphy of the Atlanta Braves is a potential target for Boston, especially with the Braves currently sitting at last place in the National League East (10-14 record entering Thursday).

While a Murphy-for-Trevor Story trade — proposed earlier in the month — is no longer tasteful for the Red Sox given Story’s recent production, perhaps Boston could find another avenue to acquiring Murphy.

The 30-year-old All-Star Murphy is slashing .205/.314/.614 with six home runs and 12 RBI so far in 2025. Murphy isn’t hitting for average, but he’s slugging, and another powerful righty bat in Fenway Park would only be positive for Boston.

Still, going after Murphy would be a tough call for Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. For one, Murphy is making a significant $15 million per year until a club option in 2029 (per Spotrac). And while Murphy’s career .233 batting average suggests his current .205 number will go up, last year’s .193 average suggests it won’t.

Notably, Murphy is a superior defender to both Wong and Narváez (with a 2021 Gold Glove to show for it), but then again, that’s what you would expect at $15 million per season.

Boston is hoping that one of their current catchers becomes “the guy” for them at the position over the next few months. But if that doesn’t happen, and if the Braves keep losing, keep an eye on Murphy.