White Sox Designate Omar Narvaez For Assignmen

The White Sox announced Thursday that theyve designated veteran catcher for a signment. His spot on the 40-man and active rosters will go to top catching prospect , whose is now official; his contract has been formally selected. Chicago also reinstated outfielder from the injured list and optioned fellow outfielder to Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move. Narvaez returned to the White Sox the team with which he made his major league debut when he signed a minor league contract back in January. He was selected to the 40-man roster earlier this month when suffered an injury, but with the presence of top catching prospects Quero and in Triple-A, the potential for the reunion to be short-lived was always present. The 33-year-old Narvaez wound up appearing in only four games, during which he went 2-for-7 with a pair of singles and a couple of walks. Narvaezs days as a regular behind the plate look to be in the past. He was a solid option behind the dish from 2017-21, batting a combined .266/.351/.403 in 1670 plate appearances. That was effectively league-average offense (101 wRC+), but Nolan Allan Jersey catchers tend to be well below-average hitters. Relative to his position, Narvaez was a comfortably better-than-average hitter. Though he posted below-average defensive grades early in his career, his glovework framing in particular has improved considerably over the years. Since a nice showing with the 2021 Brewers, however, Narvaezs production has tanked. He struggled with Milwaukee in 2022, signed a two-year contract with the Mets the following offseason, and wasnt able to right the ship. Overall, hes posted a .201/.278/.286 line in his past 521 plate appearances (including his brief look with the ChiSox this year). The White Sox can place Narvaez on waivers or trade him at any point in the next five days. Waivers themselves are another 48-hour proce s, meaning the max length of his stay in DFA limbo will be one week. While hes struggled quite a bit in recent seasons, Narvaez could still hold appeal to clubs seeking catching depth in the wake of injuries. The Red Sox (who currently roster his cousin, fellow catcher ) are without for the foreseeable future due to a broken finger. The Tigers ( ), Reds ( ) and Marlins ( ) have all seen their starting catchers go down with an oblique strain quite recently in the case of Detroit and Miami. The Sox wont get a prospect back for Narvaez, but he could be flipped for cash or claimed off waivers. If he clears waivers, he has enough service time to reject an outright a signment and elect free agency. Quero will be the first of Chicagos touted catching prospects to get a look in the big leagues. Hes out to a terrific start in Charlotte, having slashed .333/.444/.412 through his first 63 trips to the plate. That performance follows up last years stout .286/.366/.463 batting line in a combined 402 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. The switch-hitting Quero isnt considered a plus defender, but he has the chance to be a bat-first regular behind the plate. He and Teel have big enough offensive ceilings to envision a scenario where both are on the same roster and splitting time between catcher and designated hitter. Benintendis stay on the injured list due to an adductor strain proved minimal. Thats good news for the Sox, as the former All-Star has gotten back on track in a major way dating back to the midpoint of last season. Benitendi caught fire last summer and closed out the year with a .251/.325/.473 slash over his final 317 trips to the plate. Coupled with an even stronger start to his 2025 season, hes now hitting .255/.326/.475 with 18 homers, a 9.4% walk rate and a 19.1% strikeout rate over his past 350 plate appearances. Benintendis contract once looked immovable, but if he continues to produce along these lines for another couple months, he could emerge as a viable summer trade candidate. Hes being paid $16.5MM in 2025 and is owed a total of $31MM in 2026-27 as part of his five-year, $75MM contract. Troy Murray Jersey