Yankees place surging outfielder on paternity list, call up catcher

Following a series where Alex Verdugo was moved up to the clean-up spot and launched two home runs, he’s now going to welcome in another child into this world. Safe to say, he’s having a pretty good couple of days, and while this is a loss for the Yankees, it’s not considered a long-term situation. It’s unclear if Verdugo will be back or not for the series, but we do know that he can be activated off the paternity list at any point in time.

On the season, Verdugo has a .267/.358/.446 slashline with a 134 wRC+ and the lowest strikeout rate in baseball among qualified hitters (8.3%). Since the start of April, Verdugo has a 151 wRC+ and 12 RBIs, as he’s provided a nice left-handed punch to this lineup with excellent on-base skills. In his place, the Yankees have called up catcher Carlos Narvaez, who specializes in game-calling and pitch-framing.

The 25-year-old catcher is slashing .211/.376/.342 in Triple-A with a 98 wRC+ across 23 games, not having a ton of game power but recognizing pitches out of the zone well. He has a 26.2% Chase Rate with a 21.9 SEAGER score at Triple-A right now, and his swing decisions should help him hold his own and gel with this offense. It’s not expected that he would get a start in this series, but given how often catchers are put in harm’s way, it’s a nice insurance policy to have.

If he were to get into a game, he’d be making his MLB debut, which is a huge deal and much deserved as he’s been in the organization since 2016. He hasn’t been traded, released, or plucked in the Rule-5 Draft at any point either, meaning he’s been with the Yankees for eight years now. Narvaez was signed as an international free agent at the age of 17, and now at 25, he’ll don the road greys and join an MLB roster.