Shortly after the trade that brought him from the Bronx to Boston, Red Sox fans fell in love with Carlos Narváez. He's a well-rounded defender worthy of the primary catcher job and he had a great first half at the plate (.273/.347/.439) before a knee injury caught up with him.
It's taken New York Yankees fans a bit longer to get to know their return in the trade, since he's still just a prospect. But Elmer Rodriguez has burst onto the scene this spring training, and the Red Sox got a taste of what he can bring in their exhibition game with the Puerto Rican World Baseball Classic team.
Rodriguez spun three scoreless innings and gave up one hit at JetBlue Park. He fanned two batters and walked the same number. His performance was one of the best of the night for Puerto Rico, rivaled by Red Sox pitcher Jovani Morán's one-inning, one-strikeout performance in relief.
Rodriguez has also performed well in the Yankees' early spring training outings. He's clocked a 3.00 ERA with five hits, one walk and five strikeouts over six innings of work across two outings. Rodriguez's dominance has Alex Cora, also a Puerto Rico native, looking toward the future.
Former Red Sox prospect Elmer Rodriguez thriving with Yankees, posts three scoreless innings against Boston with team Puerto Rico
“Regardless of what happens, [the WBC is] going to make him a better player,” Cora said, via Tim Healey of The Boston Globe (subscription required). “We’re going to have to deal with him at one point during his career.”
Rodriguez would've had plenty of playing time this spring whether he was appearing in the WBC or not. The Yankees are short on pitchers with Garrett Crochet and Carlos Rodón are both recovering from surgery and Cam Schlittler is being slow-played to start the spring.
Narváez has been an excellent fit in Boston so far, and not every trade is about winning and losing. But if Rodriguez develops into a star with New York, he'll be a pain in the Red Sox's side at least a few times a year.
The Red Sox have gotten used to "winning" their recent trades with the Yankees and they're often successful in their efforts to reinvigorate former Yankees players' careers — Narváez went from a backup catcher to a starter, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman are an utterly deadly tandem in the bullpen and Rob Refsnyder turned his career around in his 30s. Rodriguez will seemingly challenge Boston's history of success in these exchanges.