With the 2025 Red Sox season over and an important offseason approaching, it’s time to break down each part of the Red Sox’ roster entering what should be a busy winter for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. All week, we’ll be running a five-part series analyzing each part of Boston’s roster. Next up is a look at Boston’s catchers entering 2026:

WHERE DO THINGS STAND?

No one could have predicted the way Boston’s catching situation would unfold in 2025. Spring training opened with Connor Wong as the presumptive starter and newcomers Carlos Narváez and Blake Sabol — both acquired in small trades over the winter — competing for the backup job. Eight months later, Narváez looks like the catcher of the future after grabbing the starting role in a breakout rookie season. Wong’s future is tenuous. Sabol never did much of anything with Boston.

*** READ Part I of our roster analysis series, on the starting rotation, here. ***

The Red Sox, in one of the most shrewd moves under Breslow so far, look like they found a cornerstone piece behind the plate in the 26-year-old Narváez, who started 106 games, posted a .726 OPS while hitting 15 homers and is a Gold Glove finalist in the American League. Wong, after a very disappointing season, is also under control as an arbitration-eligible player. They are the only two catchers on the 40-man roster with Ali Sánchez having elected free agency after the season.

WHAT’S COMING FROM THE MINORS?

A year ago, the answer to this question was Kyle Teel, Boston’s most highly-touted catching prospect in years. Once he was traded to the White Sox as part of the Garrett Crochet blockbuster in December, Wong looked solidified as a long-term piece. That changed — quietly — hours after the Crochet deal when Breslow swung a deal with the Yankees for Narváez.

The cupboard is much more bare in the minors now. None of the top 30 prospects on SoxProspects.com’s ranking of Boston’s system are catchers. The top-ranked backstop is Johanfran Garcia (the younger brother of Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia), who comes in at No. 31 after a 46-game stint at High-A Greenville. Brooks Brannon reached Portland but didn’t have a great offensive year and isn’t a top prospect. The Red Sox are very, very light on catching prospects.

WHICH MOVES MIGHT THE RED SOX MAKE?

Narváez is likely one of the most untouchable players on the roster when it comes to trade talks because of how hard it is to find a young, talented and controllable catcher. He’ll enter 2026 as the starter, though he’ll enter spring having spent part of the winter rehabbing after undergoing a meniscus clean-up on his left knee after the season.

The Red Sox will certainly, like every other team, add catching depth this winter after veterans Sabol, Yasmani Grandal, Seby Zavala and Chadwick Tromp each took turns in emergency duty at Triple-A Worcester this year. There will be one or two veterans added on minor league contracts with spring training invites like there are every season. Every team needs a proven option that’s just a call away.

The bigger question for the Red Sox, when it comes to catchers, pertains to Wong, who played just 63 games while hitting .190 with zero homers, eight doubles, seven RBIs and a .500 OPS. He did not see the field in the postseason. The Red Sox need to decide if 2025 was an aberration for the 29-year-old — who also had surgery, a “right hand carpal boss excision,” in October — or if the backup spot needs to be upgraded.

*** READ Part II of our roster analysis series, on the bullpen, here. ***

Wong is projected to earn $1.6 million in arbitration next season, so he’s not going to break the bank if the Red Sox tender him a contract. Boston would have to be markedly down on his future prospects to cut bait by non-tendering him. There’s a small chance, though, that the Red Sox have their sights set on someone on the free agent market as an improvement on the backup spot — especially if defense is a priority — and therefore Wong could be in jeopardy, either through a non-tender or a trade. There aren’t many great options out there behind top free agent J.T. Realmuto. Old friends Christian Vázquez and Danny Jansen are among the free agents.

Wong had a very good offensive first half in 2024 and finished with 13 homers and a .758 OPS in 126 games. A year later, he did nothing at the plate but he did show some improvement behind it, where his framing numbers went way up. If he was with any other club, Red Sox fans would likely identify him as a bounce-back candidate and someone to buy low on. Instead, the Red Sox might be banking on a resurgence in the backup role.

FINAL ANALYSIS / PREDICTION:

The Red Sox don’t need to add catching help like they did a year ago when they lost Jansen to free agency after the season. It’ll likely be a quiet winter when it comes to moves behind the plate after Narváez’s rookie surge was one of the most encouraging storylines of 2025.

The prediction here is that the Red Sox run it back with the same catching duo in 2026, with Narváez serving as the starter and Wong backing him up. There will be a depth addition or two, like there always are. If Vázquez is available on a minor league contract, his still-strong relationship with Alex Cora could lead to a reunion come spring.

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