Carlos Narváez not only established himself as a big leaguer in 2025, but handled a workload for the Red Sox unlike any he’d previously experienced as a minor leaguer in the Yankees farm system. He did so while playing through damage to his left knee that will require surgery.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Narváez will have surgery to repair the meniscus in his knee — an issue he played through for the final two months of the season. Narváez left a game because of the injury on Aug. 5, but returned on Aug. 10.
The surgery needed to repair a meniscus is considered relatively straightforward, and Narváez should be healthy by spring training.
“There were a couple times during the course of the season where it flared up, one of them pretty obviously to where he missed a little bit of time,” said Breslow. “He deserves a ton of credit for his willingness to play through this, potentially even at a time when others would have maybe bowed out, because he felt that attached to trying to help the group. But this should be a pretty straightforward procedure and [we] don’t anticipate any issues.”
Narváez, acquired from the Yankees last December (on the same day as the Sox’ trade for Garrett Crochet) in exchange for righthander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, emerged as the unexpected everyday catcher for the Sox after Connor Wong suffered a broken pinkie finger in April. He seized the opportunity, earning raves from the pitching staff, rating as elite in his pitch-framing and his ability to control the running game, and offering unexpected offense. Narváez hit .241/.306/.419 with 15 homers in 118 games.
Down the stretch, Narváez was not as consistent offensively as he was early in the year. Through Aug. 5, Narváez hit .248/.319/.409. After his return to the lineup, he hit .219/.268/.448, and his running speed was clearly diminished. Still, overall, he proved he can be an everyday big league catcher.
“On the personal side, I should be proud,” Narváez said after the Sox were eliminated by the Yankees last Thursday. “It was a crazy year. I came to spring training trying to get a job. I did it. I started off the year and everything happened.
“At some point, I should be proud a little bit,” he added. “But at this point, I cannot think that way. This feeling [of being eliminated] sucks.”
Who’s on first?
Breslow sidestepped the question of whether Triston Casas — who suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in early May that required season-ending surgery – will be the first baseman next season. He did suggest the 25-year-old has made good progress in his rehab, but couldn’t say whether Casas would be ready for the start of spring training.
“Just kind of watching the progress from the initial surgery to where he is now, he’s moving around really well, load-bearing, squatting, so we anticipate a full recovery,” said Breslow, who last offseason described Casas as a potential 40-homer threat.
“I’m hesitant to put a timeline on that, just because with any of these injuries, you want to make sure that you’re not getting too far out front.”
Campbell has support
Kristian Campbell, the AL Rookie of the Month in April, never returned to the big leagues after getting optioned to Triple-A in June. In the first season of his eight-year, $60 million deal, he hit .273/.382/.417 with eight homers for the WooSox. How do the Sox see his role for 2026?
“We learned a lot about him. He’s a tireless worker,” said Breslow. “I’ve got a ton of confidence both in the work he’s going to commit to this offseason and what he’s going to mean for this organization. I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to try to pin him to a role outside of saying he’s going to feel the support of the entire organization, and we know what he’s capable of.”
Pitching in
Last offseason, the Red Sox signed lefthander Patrick Sandoval — who underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2024 season — to a two-year, $18.25 million deal with hopes that he might be available down the stretch in 2025, but would be a starting option in 2026.
Sandoval, who turns 29 this month, ended up missing all of this year. What role do the Sox foresee for next year, when he’ll make $12.75 million?
“He was brought in because of his track record of success as a starting pitcher,” said Breslow. “[But] I think [it’s] probably premature to start identifying roles here in October.”
The Sox have Crochet, Brayan Bello, and Sandoval under contract as starting options for next year. The team also has control over Kutter Crawford (who is eligible for salary arbitration) as well as pre-arbitration options such as Hunter Dobbins, Connelly Early, Richard Fitts, Kyle Harrison, David Sandlin (who will be added to the 40-man roster this offseason), and Payton Tolle.
The Sox and Lucas Giolito, who went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 145 innings but was left off the postseason roster because of flexor tendon inflammation, have a $19 million mutual option on his services for 2026. Breslow was not ready to say whether the team will exercise its side of it.
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.