Red Sox Notes: Carlos Narváez will undergo knee surgery, expected to be ready for ’26 spring training; Who’s on first? Breslow coy on status of Triston Casas

The Red Sox announced Monday that catcher Carlos Narváez will undergo surgery on his knee to address a meniscus issue that had bothered him throughout the second half of the 2025 season.

The procedure, described by chief baseball officer Craig Breslow as a “cleanup,” will be performed this week, and he is expected to be healthy and ready for spring training next February.

Breslow was unable to provide an exact timeline of when the injury occurred and how long he was playing hurt.

“There were a couple times during the course of the season where it flared up,” Breslow said. “One of them, pretty obviously, to where he missed a little bit of time. But he deserves a ton of credit for his willingness to play through this, potentially even at a time when others would have maybe bowed out, because he felt that attached to trying to help the group.”

Narváez, who was acquired from the Yankees organization last December, had emerged as a steady presence behind the plate this year, appearing in 118 games for Boston. He hit .241 with 15 home runs, 34 RBI, 27 doubles, and a .720 OPS.

The 26-year-old put himself on the map after Connor Wong suffered a broken pinkie finger in April. Narváez seized the opportunity to become the starter, earning high praise from the pitching staff. He was a top defensive catcher, finishing in the 98th percentile in caught stealing above average (9), 95th percentile in fielding run value (12), 88th percentile in blocks above average (6), 85th percentile in framing (5), and 80th percentile in pop time (1.92), according to Baseball Savant.

Down the stretch, the grind of a 162-game season started to catch up with Narváez, hitting just .187 with a .619 OPS in 45 games following the All-Star break.

Despite the dip in production in the second half of the season, Narváez proved he has the ability to be an everyday catcher in the league.

“On the personal side, I should be proud,” Narváez said to reporters by his locker last Thursday, after the Red Sox were eliminated from the postseason. “It was a crazy year. I came to spring training trying to get a job. I did it. I started off the year, and everything happened.

“At some point, I should be proud a little bit,” he added. “But at this point, I cannot think that way. This feeling [of being eliminated] sucks.”

The Sox have team control over Narváez for the next five seasons, and he will not be eligible for arbitration until after the 2027 season. He should come into spring training atop the Red Sox’ catching depth chart, along with Wong and other external options added this offseason.

‘WE’LL SEE HOW THINGS PLAY OUT’

Boston expected Triston Casas to be a big piece of its lineup heading into the 2025 season. The power-hitting first baseman struggled out of the gate and then suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The Sox went with a platoon of Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro following the injury to Casas before signing Nathaniel Lowe after he was released by the Nationals late in the year.

Breslow was coy as to the status of the 25-year-old first baseman, declining to offer a commitment heading into 2026.

“I don’t think it makes a ton of sense on Oct. 6 to say someone is or isn’t our first baseman. We’ll see how things play out,” Breslow said. “Unfortunately Triston has missed a significant amount of time over the past two years; we’ve also seen what he’s capable of doing when he’s healthy.”

Casas hit just .182 (18-for-99) in 29 games before rupturing his patella in his knee. This was the second time he suffered a serious injury in a season, missing 98 games in 2024 with torn cartilage in his rib cage on his right side.

“Would we look for more production out of first base, more production out of second base? I think the answer is, ‘Of course,’” Breslow said. “Exactly what that looks like, we’re going to figure out through the course of the offseason.”

Breslow said Casas was “doing really well” with his recovery but would not commit to him being fully healthy for the beginning of the 2026 season.

“He’s in here every day rehabbing,” Breslow said. “Just kind of watching the progress from the initial surgery to where he is now—he’s moving around really well, load-bearing, squatting. So we anticipate a full recovery. But I’m hesitant to put a timeline on that just because with any of these injuries you want to make sure that you’re not coming too far out front."

It’s been a revolving door at first base the last couple of seasons, and Boston needs an everyday presence at the position. After Rafael Devers was traded to the Giants, the Sox were left without a real power threat in the middle of the lineup. Boston could dip into free agency and lure the likes of Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber. Alonso would present a right-handed power threat, whereas Schwarber is more of an everyday DH-type. Schwarber has not played first base since he was with the Red Sox back in 2021 and has played a grand total of 11 games at the position in his career.

Alonso would provide the thump Boston needs, but is a poor defender at first base. The Phillies are going to do everything in their power to keep Schwarber in Philadelphia. 

Boston was 15th in the majors in home runs (186) this season and 27th in the second half of the year (64).

“We’ll be open to all of those things,” Breslow said. “We faced some significant injuries during the course of season and to guys that have shown that they can get the ball out of the ballpark, whether that was in the big leagues or internally. And so I think we’ll actively look to improve the roster. That means we have to be willing to look in free agency, trades, and internally.”

Outside of first base, the Sox are going to need to add more power to their lineup. Trevor Story led the Sox with 25 homers last season, with Wilyer Abreu coming in second with 22 homers. There’s a chance Story could opt out of his contract with the Red Sox this winter, which would create another hole in the lineup.

“It would be fair to look at some of those other teams (still competing in the playoffs) and say that they hit the ball out of the ballpark a little more than we do,” Breslow said. “Scoring runs...this is kind of a zero-sum game, right? And it doesn’t really matter how you score. But in the postseason, a lot of runs come via the home run because the pitching is so dominant. So I think that’s a consideration.”

SECOND IN COMMAND

One order of business this offseason for Breslow was to hire a general manager to work under him in the front office. During the year-end press conference, Breslow has walked back claims on his desire to add a second in command in the coming weeks.

Former Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni was considered a leading candidate for the job in Boston. He’s since left for the nation’s capital. The Nationals named Toboni their new president of baseball operations last week.

“I’ve been so consumed with the postseason. I know that I made some comments that I feel like it could be a good time to kick off that search,” Breslow said. “I’m not sure exactly what the timeline might be. Obviously, we had a significant loss in Paul leaving to go to Washington. Figuring out the best structure for the front office will be a priority, but exactly what those roles look like, I’m not sure yet.”

Since being hired two offseasons ago, Breslow has operated without a general manager, unlike Chaim Bloom, who appointed long-time Red Sox executive Brian O’Halloran to the role.

There’s a strong chance Breslow promotes someone from within, with assistants Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero, Mike Groopman, and Taylor Smith as options.

Romero also interviewed for the Nationals' job and could be on another team’s radar in the coming seasons to lead its baseball operations. Brian Abraham, the senior director of player development, and Devin Pearson, the amateur scouting director, are also names to watch..