Red Sox Starter Wasn't Expecting Benching From Boston

The Boston Red Sox entered the 2026 season with Carlos Narváez as the club’s expected starting catcher. But that isn’t the case any longer. 

Progressively throughout the season so far, we’ve seen his playing time shrink. Right now, the Red Sox have him, Connor Wong, and Mickey Gasper all on the big league roster. Gasper has played well enough offensively to the point that he’s seemingly taken over as the club’s starter. 

On Monday, Narváez opened up about the change in his playing time and had a perfect response, but noted that he hasn’t talked to anyone about the role change, as shared by The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey.

“It wasn’t expected, I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy,” Narváez said. “But I’ve just got to be ready. Last year is last year; whatever happened, happened. It’s a different year, different situation, and I’ve got to be a professional. I’ve got to be ready to play every day no matter what the situation is, just be ready. … 

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“I haven’t talked with nobody, and nobody has talked with me. But like I said, I get it, I’m a part of the team and I understand what’s going on, but on my end I just have to be ready. No one is telling me anything, if something changed — clearly something changed — but I don’t know, just be ready for the opportunity, and that’s it.”

It certainly can’t be easy having your role cut down, but Narváez is handling it like a pro. Hopefully, things turn around for him. 

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