Boston Red Sox management on October 6 hosted its usual end-of-season press conference, where the usual questions and answers about offseason plans took up most of the time. There were also some updates on players which had an affect on the 2025 season.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said during the presser that Carlos Narváez will undergo surgery sometime this week to "clean up" his meniscus. He couldn't say when the catcher's injury started, but noted that his knee "flared up" a few times throughout the season. Narváez was sidelined for three games in early August due to a then-undisclosed knee injury, but he was never placed on the injured list for the issue.
Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports that the injury is a meniscus tear. Boston expects Narváez to have a full offseason and to be ready for spring training.
Narváez played a full season through his injury, an impressive feat for a recently-traded rookie. He slashed .241/.306/.419 with a .725 OPS through a breakout first half and a slow second half. Narváez was a revelation defensively, and he ranked in the 88th percentile in blocks above average, the 98th in caught stealing above average, the 85th in framing, and he notched 11 defensive runs saved, the second-most in MLB behind Giants backstop, Patrick Bailey.
Red Sox announce Carlos Narváez will undergo meniscus surgery, should be recovered by spring training
Narváez's injury may have started weighing on him in the second half of the season, although the rookie also could've lost steam over the course of his first full slate in the major leagues. The 26-year-old batted just .187/.233/.387 in 45 games after the All-Star break.
Despite the Red Sox's expectation that Narváez will be a full go for spring training, they should pursue a better backup catching situation in case any complications with his recovery pop up or another injury arises. Connor Wong was Boston's backup catcher in 2025, and despite defensive improvements, his offensive showing was far from encouraging. Wong batted .190/.262/.238 with eight doubles and seven RBI over 63 games — a severely disappointing stat line after his breakout 2024 season at the plate (.280/.333/.425 slash line with 13 homers over 126 games).
Narváez was one of the biggest surprises in the Sox's lineup in 2025, both offensively and defensively. Breslow made sure to highlight how impressive his rookie season was, and even more so that he had so much success while playing through a knee injury.