The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have made more trades recently than the arch-rivals are used to. For the most part, Boston has emerged as the winner.
The Babe Ruth deal has stained the Red Sox's legacy forever, but they've recently been more careful about who they send to the Bronx. Alex Verdugo posted the worst season of his career in 2024, his lone year with the Yankees, and his tenure will live on in infamy as the final out of the 2024 World Series. Richard Fitts, on the other hand, has emerged as a reliable starter option for Boston, and Greg Weissert has excelled in its bullpen.
The Red Sox spared catcher Carlos Narváez from donning pinstripes this season. They traded for him over the offseason as a backup catching option to Connor Wong, but he's quickly emerged as the Sox's go-to guy behind the plate.
Narváez had six games of experience with the Yankees in 2024, and he knocked three singles in his short stint in the league. The 26-year-old has vastly defied offensive expectations as a Red Sox, with a .279/.343/.459 slash line and .802 OPS over 36 games. He's been on an incredible streak at the plate, batting .435/.519/.609 in his last seven games. In comparison, Yankees starting catcher Austin Wells is slashing .200/.269/.443 this year.
The Carlos Narváez trade with the Yankees has worked especially well for the Red Sox
Narváez has also defied expectations defensively. The young backstop leads all catchers with eight defensive runs saved, and he's posted elite numbers in three defensive categories: blocks above average (90th percentile), caught stealing above average (95th percentile), and framing (93rd percentile).
The former Yankees catcher has been one of the biggest surprises of the Red Sox's season so far. He's been a bright spot in an offense that's been largely underwhelming, and he's softened the blow of Connor Wong's current struggles after his breakout season in 2024. Wong batted .280/.333/.425 through 126 games last year, but is slashing just .156/.240/.156 in 18 appearances this year. Wong has improved defensively this year, with his biggest jump being in his framing ability, but none of his stats hold a candle to Narváez's.
In exchange for trading Narváez to the Red Sox, the Yankees received righty pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, who is now their No. 6 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Rodriguez-Cruz has logged a 3.22 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 36.1 innings with Triple-A Hudson Valley. He's still years from MLB readiness and it won't be clear which side won the Narváez trade for a long time. For now, though, the Red Sox have fared quite well in another deal with their longtime rivals.
