FORT MYERS, Fla. – Though Alex Cora maintains it’s too early to discuss player roles, he made an exception Saturday.

“I think Carlos earned the right to be the starter,” the Red Sox manager said of Narváez, one of last season’s breakout stars.

Connor Wong is expected to fill the other catching spot on the roster, though Cora envisions him playing more than a traditional backup. This era of baseball requires it, the manager explained.

“The Pudge Rodriguezes of the world, the Yadi Molinas of the world, they don’t exist anymore,” Cora said. “(Wong’s) a guy we trust, he’s a good defender. … Throughout the years, he’s up there with Trevor (Story) as far as like, the athlete, the jumps and everything that goes into strength and conditioning. He’s one of the best athletes that we have.”

Wong was Boston’s primary catcher in ‘23 and ‘24 and was expected to be so again in ‘25. When he suffered a fractured pinky during the second week of the season, Narváez stepped in. By the time Wong returned less than a month later, Narváez had cemented himself as more than a backup backstop.

“We rushed (Wong) into action,” manager Alex Cora said Saturday. “Carlos took over.”

Grinding his way through a knee injury which he was told in July required surgery, Narváez refused to abandon his team as they strove for a postseason berth. He played 118 games in 2025, including 112 as catcher. He led the majors with 58 assists and 32 runners caught stealing, ranked in the 96th MLB percentile in Fielding Run Value, and finished sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting.

Coaches, including longtime Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek, were raving about Narváez’s preparedness and game-planning from the start.

“He exudes baseball,” Varitek told the Herald in mid-April ‘25. “His demeanor, and the way he goes about his business. And he’s prepared. He’s a joy to be around. He’s a joy.”

Narváez exceeded his manager’s expectations with his bat and perseverance.

“He did a good job controlling the zone, hitting the ball in the air to the pull-side, shooting the ball the other way when we needed to,” Cora said. “He was banged up the whole season. … And he did an amazing job for us.”

Though initially stunned by the December ‘24 trade, especially after years in the Yankees organization and his big-league debut with them months earlier, Narváez quickly embraced his new team and was embraced in turn. Some fans have even begun calling him ‘Captain.’ Narváez maintains the title belongs to Varitek, but he hopes to emulate his mentor by continuing to prove himself indispensable.

“The only thing I may say is I would love to be a Red Sox forever,” Narváez told the Herald. “I would like to retire with this team. We haven’t talked about it, hopefully that will come in the future.”

Fresh off his rookie season, Narváez won’t be eligible for free agency until 2031. He hopes the Red Sox will consider him for an extension long before that day comes, but his focus is currently elsewhere.

“That’s something that I’m not paying attention to right now,” the catcher said. “Of course, I would love it, but we’ve got different goals this year, and I think this year is going to be very important for us, for everybody.

“We got our goal set. Like, individual things, personal things that will come in the future, and of course I’m more than happy and welcome if that happens, but as of now, our goal is to get a World Series ring this year.”

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