Carlos Narváez Shouldn't Be Surprised By Red Sox Benching

And it doesn't seem like he was completely caught off guard...

May 20, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez (75) bats during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Carlos Narváez was one of a handful of Boston Red Sox standouts who performed above expectations last season. This year, he's come crashing back to earth.

Narváez simply hasn't hit this season, and the Red Sox have recently made him a backup; frankly, the third catcher on the depth chart behind Mickey Gasper and Connor Wong. Entering Monday, he'd only played in one game in the first week of June, though he started against the Tampa Bay Rays in the night's 3-1 loss.

Having earned the nickname "The Captain" in his first year in Boston, Narváez owns leadership skills that exceed his capabilities in the batter's box. He hates not being out there, but he did his best this week to avoid bashing the organization for his at-least-temporary demotion.

Here was Narváez's response to downtick in playing time

Mar 26, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez (75) bunts against the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

“It wasn’t expected, I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy,” Narváez said, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “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.

""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.”

Narváez is extremely well-liked by nearly everyone in the organization, but his season got off on the wrong foot and he simply hasn't been able to recover. He was benched for showing up late during the team's early-season series in Houston, and his OPS has never climbed above .650 since April 6.

Meanwhile, Gasper has hit quite well, but still hasn't done it long enough to establish himself as a starter. Ditto for Wong, who has no home runs since the last presidential election.

So while it doesn't reflect well to some that the Red Sox haven't totally given Narváez a courtesy warning that he was being benched, the reality is that hte situation can't be considered resolved until someone truly steps up and wins the job.