Sunday Notes: Gleyber-Like, Carlos Narváez Has Exceeded Expectations in Boston

Carlos Narváez has far exceeded expectations this season. Acquired by the Red Sox from the Yankees last winter in exchange for 22-year-old pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, Narváez went into spring training hoping to earn a job as Boston’s backup catcher. He did much more than that. The 26-year-old backstop went on to claim the starting job, and he heads into the final day of the regular season with 15 home runs and a 97 wRC+ over 446 plate appearances. A plus defender, Narváez has 12 defensive runs saved and 2.7 WAR.

Back in spring training, Alex Cora said something about the still-unproven — just six games of MLB experience — native of Maracay, Venezuela that caught my attention.

“He had a great offseason, playing in winter ball,” the Red Sox manager told a group of reporters, including yours truly. “Learned a lot about the offensive side of it. Very Gleyber-like as far as his swing. He can stay inside the ball and drive it.”

I stored away those quotes, thinking they might be worth revisiting if Narváez were to not only make the team, but also end up contributing with the bat. Six months later, I did just that. Reminding him of what he’d said in Fort Myers, I asked Cora if Narváez still has a Gleyber Torres-like swing.

“Not this year’s Gleyber,” Cora replied. “Now Gleyber pulls the ball. But with Narvy, he’s able to stay inside pitches and shoot it the other way. Early in the season he did an outstanding job with two strikes, then he got tired a little bit and was trying to do too much, but lately he’s been able to shoot the ball the other way… When he gets something soft in the zone, he’s able to hit it in the air to the pull side.”

Shortly after getting Cora’s thoughts, I approached the Boston catcher for his own. Does Narváez feel that he and the Yankees-turned-Tigers infielder are similar?

“We have similar approaches,” Narváez told me. “When I’m at my best, I use the opposite field very well, especially late in counts. Our swings are a little different, but I know Gleyber and his approach — I played with him last year — and that’s pretty similar. We understand to stay inside the baseball.”

Cora had also said during the spring that he’d like to see Narváez drive the ball to left-center field in order to take advantage of his home ballpark. Does the rookie catcher feel that he’s been doing an adequate job of assailing the Green Monster?

“I take my shots sometimes,” said Naráaez, who has hit 12 of his 15 home runs to the pull side, two more to center, and another one to right (around Pesky’s Pole, no less). “That’s usually with hanging pitches or when I’m ahead in counts. But I always go back to my approach. I’m better when I use the opposite field.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Andre Thornton went 11 for 19 against Burt Hooton.

Rick Manning went 11 for 22 against Ken Holtzman.

Bobby Avila went 11 for 23 against Hal Newhouser.

Buddy Bell went 11 for 26 against Bill Singer.

Mike Hargrove went 11 for 27 against Dan Petry.

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Brad Ausmus managed the Detroit Tigers in 2014 when the AL Central club finished 90-72 and edged out the Kansas City Royals for first place by one game. How did that Tigers team compare to this year’s squad, which heads into the final day of the regular season with 87 wins and (just barely) a ticket to October baseball. I asked Ausmus that question two weekends ago, at which time the since-scuffling Tabbies had 84 wins and a seemingly comfortable hold on a division title.

“In 2014 it was more of a star-laden lineup,” the now-New York Yankees bench coach said of the squad that went on to be swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. “You had Miguel Cabrera. You had Ian Kinsler, Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez started blossoming. So, it was a roster with a lot of stars. Justin Verlander. Max Scherzer. A lot of very well-known baseball players.

“The current roster does have some stars — Tarik Skubal. Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson — but they also have a very flexible roster where they can mix and match. They can put platoon lineups out there. There aren’t many household names, but there are a few guys who will probably become more household names. A couple of the young pitchers, Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson, have a chance to be stars. Again, in 2014 we had a ton of household names. There is more than one way to go about having a winning roster.”

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How do the 2025 Tigers compare to last year’s 86-76 squad that captured a Wild Card berth, then went on to lose to the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS? I asked that question to broadcast analyst Andy Dirks.

“They hit more home runs,” said Dirks, who played in Detroit from 2011-2013 before moving into the booth a few years ago. “They’ve also been better against left-handed starting pitchers. Torkelson. The Gleyber Torres signing was huge against lefties. Jahmai Jones has been absolutely destroying left-handed pitching. The contributions have been pretty significant from the right-handed hitters.”

The numbers largely back that up. Tigers righties have combined for 87 home runs with a 103 wRC+ this season, whereas last year they hit 78 home runs with just an 83 wRC+.

Dirks also weighed in on the pitching.

“Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe being hurt definitely makes the rotation a little more difficult,” the former outfield said. “You’ve got Casey [Mize], [Jack] Flaherty, and Skubal, but there have been gaps to fill. Keider Montero has been up and down, which he was last year. And then last year they went to pitching chaos pretty exclusively. This year they haven’t done it as much.”

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A quiz:

Which player has recorded the most hits for the Chicago Cubs since the start of the 1960 season? (a hint: Sammy Sosa is the only Cub with more home runs over that span.)

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NEWS NOTES

Jean Hastings Ardell was honored with the 2025 SABR Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award at last weekend’s SABR/WBC Women in Baseball Conference. More information can be found here.

Bob Oldis, a native of Preston, Iowa who played in 135 games while wearing the tools of ignorance for three teams across the 1953-1963 seasons, died last Sunday at age 97. All told, Oldis recorded 56 hits, including one home run, as a part-timer for the Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies. He later coached under Gene Mauch.

Ed Acosta, a right-hander who appeared in three games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1970, and in 54 games for the San Diego Padres over the next two seasons, died on September 18 at age 81. The Boquete, Panama native went 6-9 with one save and a 4.05 ERA.

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The answer to the quiz is Billy Williams, with 2,505 hits. Ryne Sandberg ranks second, with 2,385 hits.

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Back in mid-July, this column included Cincinnati Reds broadcaster John Sadak opining that catcher Jose Trevino had been the team’s most pleasant surprise to date. Left on the cutting-room floor from our then-conversation was what he told me about a pair of southpaws.

“Several of the pitchers have taken big strides,’ Sadak said. “I think the changeup is the under-the-radar pitch for the staff. This is the best changeup that Andrew Abbott has ever thrown. If you look at the metrics, his average-against has plummeted dramatically. He’s also using it more this year. The same for Nick Lododo. His changeup almost became his primary out-pitch at times. The breaking ball has always been what he’s known for, but his command of it wasn’t as clean early on, and he kind of morphed into a changeup/sinker guy for a few weeks. Those are two lefties that learn from each other.”

Lodolo will finish the regular season having thrown his changeup at a 21.9% clip, with opposing hitters logging a .196 BAA and a .315 slug against the offering. Abbott will have thrown his 19.6% of the times, with a .215 BAA and a .349 slug.

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How do the 2025 Cleveland Guardians compare to last year’s 92-69 squad that won the AL Central, only to subsequently lose to the Yankees in the ALCS? I asked that question to Jim Rosenhaus.

“They had to scramble more offensively,” the Guardians radio broadcaster said of this year’s team, which is postseason-bound for the seventh time in 10 years and heads into today’s finale with an 86-74 record. “A year ago, they had Josh Naylor putting up big numbers. David Fry put up big numbers. Lane Thomas put up good numbers. That’s the biggest difference. But recently, Bo Naylor has been hot. They got a home run from [George] Valera last night. So, different people are picking up the slack. [Kyle] Manzardo has had a good year. [Brayan] Rocchio has gotten hot the second half. At different points of the season, different guys have helped us score just enough to complement the pitching.

“We’re also deeper pitching-wise, coming down the stretch. The bullpen has been really good, and the starters are really deep. To go with a six-man rotation and having them all performing well, that’s pretty impressive. I don’t know that we had that depth a year ago.”

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Reggie Cleveland isn’t obscure if you were following baseball in the 1970s, but you likely aren’t familiar with him if that decade predates your fandom. The right-hander from Swift Current, Saskatchewan wasn’t a star, but he was a solid big-league starter (and occasionally reliever) from 1969-1981. Pitching for four teams, he went 105-106 with a 4.01 ERA, logging 25 saves along the way.

His best statistical season was 1973. That summer, Cleveland posted a record of 14-10 with a 3.01 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals, after which he was traded to Boston as part of a six-player deal in December. Two years later, he went 13-9 for a Red Sox squad that went on to lose to an epic 1975 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. One of just nine players in MLB history to have been born in Saskatchewan, he has the fourth-highest win total among Canadian hurlers.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Netherlands beat Italy 6-5 yesterday to win this year’s European Baseball Championships. Czechia took home the bronze, outscoring Spain 9-2.

The Kia Tigers won’t repeat as KBO champions, as the Gwangju, South Korea-based club was eliminated from postseason contention this past Wednesday. Reigning MVP Do Yeong Kim’s missing much of the campaign with multiple injuries was a factor. The 21-year-old superstar played in just 30 games.

Patrick Wisdom has hit a team-best 33 home runs for Tigers. The 34-year-old third baseman is in his first KBO season after playing for the Chicago Cubs from 2020-2024.

Tatsuya Imai has a 1.77 ERA and a 2.00 FIP, as well as a 27.8% strikeout rate that ranks as the highest among qualified NPB pitchers. The 27-year-old Seibu Lions right-hander’s 182-and-two-thirds innings pitched is the most in Japan’s top league.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates took pitchers with their first two picks in this year’s amateur draft. Their next two selections were Murf Gray, a 21-year-old third baseman out of Fresno State, and Easton Carmichael, a 21-year-old catcher out of the University of Oklahoma. Asked if his team was prioritizing position players when they tabbed Gray and Carmichael, Pirates GM Ben Cherington said that wasn’t necessarily the case. At the same time, adding bats was clearly a draft-day objective.

“We’re mostly doing what the board is telling us to do, and when we got to those picks we felt like they were the best players available,” Cherington told me. “We know we have to acquire offense. It’s less likely that we’ll do that through free agency, so it has to come through trades, the draft, etcetera.”

Cherington called the Carmichael selection “betting on an athlete who we think can catch.” He described Gray as a physical athlete whose makeup and work ethic will help allow him to make needed adjustments.

The mention of adjustments, paired with the Pirates’ need to add offense, prompted a followup question: Have there been any changes to the hitting development program over the past year?

“The last 12 to 18 months, yes,” the GM replied. “I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there have been changes made, some where 2025 was the first year of implementation. We’re trying to be more precise and intentional about what we’re focusing on, level to level. What are the things we’re trying to improve, and when are we trying to improve them? What is the right time to be focusing on building a bigger, stronger, faster athlete? Then, when and how do we get them into more-nuanced skills, like swing decisions and adjustability?”

The Pirates have scored 579 runs this season, the fewest of any team. To say they need to continue to upgrade their hitting-development program is stating the obvious.

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FARM NOTES

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Miami Marlins) outscored the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics) 8-7 to win last night’s Triple-A championship game. Jacob Berry, whom Miami drafted sixth-overall in 2022 out of LSU, walked off the contest with a two-run homer.

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets) won the Double-A Eastern League’s championship series, topping the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers) in the best-of-three finals. The Reid Brignac-managed team went 90-46 in the regular season.

Dax Kilby slashed .353/.457/.441 with a 159 wRC+ over 81 plate appearances for the Low-A Tampa Tarpons. The 18-year-old shortstop was drafted 29th overall this summer by the New York Yankees out of a Newnan, Georgia high school.

Wehiwa Aloy slashed .288/.356/.500 with a 146 wRC+ over 80 plate appearances for the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds. The 21-year-old shortstop was drafted 31st overall this summer by the Baltimore Orioles out of the University of Arkansas.

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Jumping back to the Tigers, Riley Greene was my preseason pick to capture AL MVP honors, and while that prediction won’t come to fruition — not with what Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh have been doing — he has had a good year. The Detroit Tigers outfielder has 36 home runs and 111 RBIs to go with a 121 wRC+ and 3.2 WAR.

How satisfied is he with the season he’s had?

“It’s been great,” said Greene, who is celebrating his 25th birthday today. “My goal was to show up and try to help this team win every single day, and I feel like I’ve done that. The strikeouts have been a little high (201 on the season), but other than that, I think it’s been pretty good. Of course, it can always be better.”

Greene told me that he doesn’t really look at his numbers during the season. As for the stat he most cares about, that would “probably be RBIs, because I’m helping the team score runs.”

What about any the of advanced stats?

“Nah. I don’t really understand the advanced stats, to be honest,” Greene said to that question. “I just play baseball.”

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Oriole Park at Camden Yards will be relocating “the best press box in baseball” over the offseason. Rich Dubroff has the story at Baltimore Baseball.

Doug Glanville appreciates the days of expanded September rosters. He explained why that is at Welcome To Glanville.

The Athletic’s Dennis Lin addressed the decline of .300 hitters, and the value of batting average in today’s game.

The Providence Journal’s Joe McDonald covered the Pawtucket Red Sox when Buddy Bailey managed the Triple-A Club in the mid-1990s, and again in early 2000s. McDonald wrote a tribute to Bailey, who died earlier this week at age 68.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

The Colorado Rockies joined the National League in 1993 and have since compiled a .456 winning percentage, the lowest among active franchises. Rockies hitters have combined for a .270 batting average, the highest among active franchises.

The Detroit Tigers have stolen 60 bases this season (the fewest of any team) and have been caught stealing 16 times. The New York Mets have stolen 145 bases and been caught stealing 18 times.

José Soriano has walked at least one batter in each of his last 50 starts, the longest active streak in the majors. Kodai Senga (42) and Gavin Williams (39) have the next longest streaks. (per the Cleveland Guardians press notes).

Carlos Rodón will finish the regular season with 203 strikeouts and 132 hits allowed. Per Stathead’s Katie Sharp, the left-hander is the first pitcher in Yankees history to have a season with at least 200 strikeouts and fewer than 140 hits allowed.

On today’s date in 1990, Jeff Stone plated Wade Boggs with a walk-off single to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 come-from-behind win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Had the Red Sox not rallied with two runs off of Tom Henke in the ninth, the Blue Jays would have tied them for first place with just five games remaining. The hit was the last of Stone’s major-league career, and his only one that season.

Ted Williams homered in the final plate appearances of his career on today’s date in 1960. The Splendid Splinter went deep at Fenway Park against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Jack Fisher to help lift the Red Sox to a 5-4 win. All told, Williams homered 521 times while logging a 187 wRC+ and 129.8 WAR.

Montreal Expos right-hander Greg Harris pitched ambidextrously against the Cincinnati Reds on today’s date in 1995, becoming the first pitcher to do so in the modern era. Harris walked the first of the two batters he faced while throwing left-handed — he also faced two as a righty — then got a 2-3 out on a chopper in front of the plate (Joe Siddall, who is now a broadcast analyst for the Toronto Blue Jay, was the catcher).

Players born on today’s date include Joey Nation, a southpaw whose big-league career comprised two appearances for the Chicago Cubs, the second of them on today’s date in 2000. Nation was the losing pitcher in both games, allowing a total of nine runs in 11-and-two-thirds innings. He did go 2-for-4 at the plate.

Also born on today’s date was Keiichi Yabu, a right-hander from Minami Muro-gun, Japan who appeared in 40 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2005, and in 60 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2008. Thirty-six years old when he made his MLB debut — he’d previously spent 11 seasons with the Hanshin Tigers — Yabu went 7-6 with one save and a 4.00 ERA over 68 innings. He pitched in Mexico in 2006 and 2007.

William Thomas pitched professionally from 1926-1952, logging 383 wins while taking the mound over 1,000 times. The right-hander’s many teams included the Brownsville Charros, Charleroi Babes, Hollywood Stars, Owensboro Oilers, and Wheeling Stogies. He played exclusively down on the farm.