NEW YORK — Carlos Narváez was 16 when he signed with the Yankees in 2015, one name on a long list of international prospects.
The catcher from, Venezuela defied long odds and made his major league debut at Yankee Stadium last July 20. He caught an inning and singled in his first at-bat.
“I was crying that day,” Narváez said. “A lot of emotions.”
There were no tears when Narváez returned on Friday as a member of the Red Sox, only gratitude.
The Yankees traded Narváez to the Sox in December. He earned a roster spot in spring training and has since become the team’s primary catcher and done enough at the plate to merit hitting cleanup against his old teammates on Friday.
In what has been a season defined by drama and disappointment, Narváez is one of the few Sox players to exceed expectations.
“He took the baton and took off,” manager Alex Cora said. “He’s done an amazing job.”
Offensively, Narváez focused on cutting down on strikeouts and putting the ball in play.
“Just find some barrel, keep the line moving,” he said. “It’s been paying off and I’m super happy contributing to the team.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Cora in December that Narváez would be a good player.
“Hitting fourth, I don’t know that I saw that,” Boone said. “But I know how much I love the player and the person so I’m not surprised he’s having success.
“This is obviously a really talented catcher and really smart guy. Amazing head on his shoulders, amazing person.”
Going back to spring training, the Sox were impressed with how Narváez worked with the pitchers and his athletic ability behind the plate.
They broke camp with Connor Wong as the starting catcher. But when Wong broke a finger on April 7, Narváez became the starter and has held the job since.
Defensive metrics show Narváez as one of the top catchers in baseball and he arrived at Yankee Stadium hitting .288 with an .812 OPS.
The Sox had a day off on Thursday and Narváez spent some time with Yankees infielder Oswaldo Cabrera, one of his closest friends and a fellow Venezuelan.
There were plenty of handshakes and hugs at batting practice before a passing rainstorm chased everybody back inside.
For the Yankees, this is not a case of the one who got away. The organization had a deep group of catchers and made the best trade they could.
The Sox sent 21-year-old righthander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz to the Yankees for Narváez and he has a 3.88 earned run average and 1.10 WHIP in nine starts at High A Hudson Valley.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman knew he was taking a risk in trading Narváez to the Red Sox. But he didn’t let the age-old rivalry between the teams stand in the way.
He liked Rodriguez-Cruz and the deal was made.
Narváez was soon surrounded by a group of reporters when he walked through the visitors clubhouse before the game.
He credited the Yankees for his success and thanked the Red Sox for the opportunity to play regularly.
“Super pumped for this opportunity and being able to wear both uniforms,” Narváez said. “It’s amazing.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.