Carlos Narváez Discusses His Elite Defense Behind Plate

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will renew acquaintances on Thursday for a highly anticipated four-game series in The Bronx.

With the Red Sox fresh off a three-game losing streak and currently sitting 1.5 games back of New York for the top spot in the American League Wild Card race, the Red Sox will be looking to get back on track following a frustrating two-game sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles earlier this week.

A Red Sox-Yankees series will always attract its share of media attention. With Major League Baseball’s most legendary rivalry about to take center stage once again at Yankee Stadium this weekend, Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez appeared as an in-studio guest on MLB Central ahead of Game One.

“I’m trying to stay below the ball the whole time,” said Narváez. “That’s my goal. Having a good position, but trying to stay below and grip everything (going) up. It’s not moving into the zone; it’s just vertical. Everything is up. So, if I’m away a little bit, I’m trying to go vertical. So it’s like, okay, I’m centered here, and I don’t need to go here. Just vertical.”

Asked by MLB Central co-host Mark Derosa about his training routine, Narváez described how the use of a heavy ball mixed with light-tracking technology has helped him become one of baseball’s elite receivers this season.

“I like the heavy ball,” said Narváez. “The heavy ball makes you stiff. And then we use a type of light bulb that is moving fast. Sometimes moving up, and sometimes moving down. So, after the heavy ball, you can read the (movement) of the lighter ball much quicker.”

Narváez, who was traded from the Yankees to the Red Sox in a rare move between the organizations last December, was added to the team’s 26-man roster out of spring training and emerged as the Red Sox’s top catching option earlier this season after his strong defense and unexpected offensive contributions were enough to overtake incumbent Conner Wong and become the team’s starting catcher.

For the season, the 26-year-old Venezuelan native is batting .245 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 314 at-bats. He made his MLB debut with the Yankees last season and hit .231 with three hits in six games.