After coming up lame while running out a ground ball in the second inning Tuesday, Carlos Narváez was seen walking slowly with a clear limp ahead of the Red Sox’ 7-3 loss in Wednesday’s series finale against the Royals at Fenway Park.
Narváez was visibly frustrated after the play — slamming his helmet as he returned to the dugout — but remained in the game at catcher and had three more at-bats.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed little concern following Tuesday’s game, attributing Narváez’s limp to cramps and adding that “there were no issues afterward.”
However, on Wednesday, Narváez was not in the lineup and was deemed to have a knee issue.
“Actually, it wasn’t a cramp,” Cora said. “It was his knee. He felt it a little bit. He’s going through testing and all that stuff. Hopefully, he’s available Friday. We’ll stay away from him today so we can maximize [the offday on Thursday]. Today, he wasn’t moving great.”
When asked if Narváez would require a stint on the injured list, Cora said “we’re not there yet.”
Backup catcher Connor Wong was in the lineup, which marked his third start in four days. Wong had not started three of four games since May.
Wong, who entered the season as Boston’s starting catcher before being supplanted by Narváez, has struggled at the plate in a reserve role — in 41 games, Wong is hitting just .160 with a .414 OPS and two RBIs.
Meanwhile, Narváez has started 79 of 115 games at catcher, batting .248 with a .729 OPS and nine home runs.
Despite Narváez’s huge impact as a rookie, his workload is a cause for concern down the stretch. He already has exceeded his previous career high in games caught, and his offensive production has waned of late: Since the beginning of July, he is batting .171 with a .522 OPS and two home runs in 21 games.
Were Narváez to miss time, the Sox’ top depth options available at Triple A Worcester are Chadwick Tromp and Seby Zavala, veterans with big league experience.
Mayer not focused on extension
With Roman Anthony signing an eight year, $130 million contract extension on Wednesday, Boston has locked up a significant portion of its young nucleus to long-term deals, joining Kristian Campbell and Ceddanne Rafaela with deals that run through at least 2032.
That leaves one clear candidate among the young core without a long-term extension: Marcelo Mayer.
The 22-year-old Mayer, who is on the injured list with a sprained right wrist, said a long-term extension is not something he has given much thought to.
“No, not really,” Mayer said. “I’m not really focused on that right now. I got a lot on my plate, trying to get back on the field with my wrist and stuff.”
Mayer, the Sox’ No. 4 overall pick in 2021 and a top-10 prospect in baseball prior to his call-up in late May, is batting .228 with a .674 OPS in 44 games.
Slaten injury update
One day after throwing 20 pitches off the mound in a bullpen session, righthanded reliever Justin Slaten was “feeling good today,” according to Cora.
Slaten, who hit the injured list on May 29, was found to have a transverse process on a vertebrae near his shoulder and neck that was pinching against nerves and blood vessels, causing numbness in his arm.
Slaten’s plan is to throw his next bullpen on Friday and continue ramping up, with the Sox optimistic in his recent progression.
Sandlin in Worcester bullpen
Hard-throwing righty David Sandlin, who primarily worked as a starter for Double A Portland this season, was moved to the bullpen in Worcester this week with an eye on providing help for the Sox this season. Making his first relief appearance Tuesday against Buffalo, he allowed two runs on three hits while striking out three in 1⅓ innings, topping out at 98.4 miles per hour with his fastball ... With an RBI single in the fifth inning Wednesday for Worcester, Campbell extended his hitting streak to 15 games. That surpassed Rafaela (14) for the second-longest streak in the history of the Woo Sox, which started play in 2021 … In winning two of three against the Royals, the Sox took their seventh consecutive series victory against Kansas City … The Sox’ loss snapped their eight-game winning streak in series finales, which dated to July 6 … Mike Yastrzemski was 4 for 8 in the series with three doubles and two runs. The Andover native, who went from the Giants to the Royals at the trade deadline, is 10 for 28 (.357) in nine career games at Fenway with 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 4 RBIs and 8 runs.