Carlos Narváez Discusses His Elite Defense Behind Plate

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will renew acquaintances Thursday for a highly anticipated four-game series in The Bronx.

The Red Sox are coming off a three-game losing streak and sit 1.5 games back of New York for the top spot in the American League Wild Card race. They’ll be looking to get back on track following a frustrating two-game sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles earlier this week.

A Red Sox-Yankees series always will attract its share of media attention. With Major League Baseball’s most legendary rivalry about to take center stage once again at Yankee Stadium this weekend, Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez appeared as an in-studio guest on MLB Network’s MLB Central ahead of the series opener.

“I’m trying to stay below the ball the whole time,” Narváez said. “That’s my goal. Having a good position, but trying to stay below and grip everything (going) up. It’s not moving into the zone; it’s just vertical. Everything is up. So, if I’m away a little bit, I’m trying to go vertical. So it’s like, OK, I’m centered here, and I don’t need to go here. Just vertical.”

Asked by MLB Central co-host Mark Derosa about his training routine, Narváez described how the use of a heavy ball mixed with light-tracking technology has helped him become one of baseball’s elite receivers this season.

“I like the heavy ball,” said Narváez. “The heavy ball makes you stiff. And then we use a type of light bulb that is moving fast. Sometimes moving up, and sometimes moving down. So, after the heavy ball, you can read the (movement) of the lighter ball much quicker.”

Narváez was traded to Boston from the Yankees last December in a rare move between the organizations. He was added to the team’s 26-man roster out of spring training, and emerged as the Red Sox’s top catching option earlier this season after his strong defense and offensive contributions supplanted Conner Wong as the starting catcher.

The 26-year-old Venezuelan is batting .245 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 314 at-bats this season. He made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2024, batting .231 with three hits in six games.