Omar Narváez, catcher for the Mets, showed his loyalty to the team by choosing to play out his contract in November, even though he had previously stated he would have been open to a trade.
Francisco Álvarez stole the show last season after the one-time All-Star, who was expected to be the team’s starting catcher, suffered a calf injury in his fifth game.
Narváez, who was excited to play every day, envisioned himself as a backup catcher.
“Last year wasn’t easy,” Narváez acknowledged to NJ Advance Media on a soggy Sunday at the Mets complex. However, he’s starting this season with a new perspective after taking some time off over the winter and spending time with his family.
“Look, my experience influences this team a lot,” Narváez said. “I’m expecting to use my experience to influence this team offensively and defensively.”
Narváez stated that he was willing to be traded if it would result in him receiving more playing time after observing his playing time decrease the previous season. He batted and played 49 games in all, which is the fewest he has played since 2020 due to COVID-19 .211/.283/.297.
“I feel quite confident about the pieces that we have and the players we have signed,” he said. “We may have players that aren’t names, but I think we can still go far. Our mentality is to play each game to win, inning by inning, and see where it takes us.”