Omar David Narváez (born February 10, 1992) is a Venezuelan

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

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(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

and

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. He was an All-Star in 2021.

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

At the age of 16, on July 4, 2008, Narváez signed a contract with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

organization. In 2009, he made his professional debut with the VSL Rays of the Venezuelan Summer League. In 47 games, Narváez posted a .315 batting average and 27 runs batted in (RBIs). He remained with the VSL Rays in 2010, batting .308 in 46 games, with one homer and 20 RBIs. Narváez also earned 27 walks compared to only 11

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. Narváez joined the

GCL Rays The Florida Complex League Rays are a minor league baseball team in Port Charlotte, Florida, competing as a Rookie-level team in the Florida Complex League as an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast ...

of the Gulf Coast League for the 2011 season. In 47 games, his average dipped to .221 and he drove in 15 runs. His batting average climbed back to .305 in 2012, when Narváez joined the Princeton Rays of the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

. In 43 games, he tallied one homer and 16 RBIs. In 2013, Narváez was promoted above Rookie–level for the first time in his career. He joined the Hudson Valley Renegades of the Single–A New York–Penn League. He batted .267 in 39 games, driving in 13 runs.

Chicago White Sox

On December 12, the

selected Narváez from the Rays in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Narváez split the 2014 season between the Kannapolis Intimidators and the Winston-Salem Dash. With Kannapolis, a member of the mid Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, Narváez saw action in 38 games. He batted .291 and drove in 20 runs. Narváez also appeared in 47 games with Winston-Salem of the high Single–A

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, where he batted .279, with 2 homers, 16 RBI, 27 walks, and 21 strikeouts. Narváez played in a total of 85 games in 2014, well surpassing his prior career high of 47 appearances (in 2009 and 2011). Narváez remained with Winston-Salem for the 2015 season. He saw action 98 games and posted a .274 average, one home run, 27 RBI, 40 walks, and 31 strikeouts. He also appeared in 13 games for

Bravos de Margarita The Bravos de Margarita (''Margarita Braves'') are a professional baseball team who plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League since the 2007-08 season. The team was founded in 1991 as the ''Petroleros de Cabimas'' (''Cabimas Oilers'') ...

of the

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. Narváez spent the 2016 season with a pair of Chicago's minor league affiliates, the AA

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

and the AAA Charlotte Knights, as well as the parent club. He batted .222 in 13 games with Birmingham and .245 in 41 appearances for Charlotte. Narváez was called up to the major leagues for the first time on July 6, 2016. He made his MLB debut on July 17 against the Los Angeles Angels and he doubled off pitcher

Jered Weaver Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. Weaver was drafted in the first round (12th overall ...

in his first at-bat. Narváez hit his first MLB home run, a solo shot off

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

reliever

Pat Dean Patrick Michael Dean (born May 25, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and in the Korea Baseball Organization for the Kia Tigers. Amateur career Dean was b ...

, on September 30, his father's birthday. Overall, Narváez played in 34 games for the White Sox and posted a .267 batting average with one home run and 10 RBIs.

Seattle Mariners

On November 30, 2018, the White Sox traded Narvaez to the

in exchange for

Alex Colomé Alexander Manuel Colomé Pérez (born December 31, 1988) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle M ...

. In 2019, he hit .278/.353/.460/.813 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 5, 2019, the Mariners traded Narváez to the

in exchange for

Adam Hill Adam Hill (born 19 October 1986) is a New Zealand Rugby Union player who currently plays as a loose forward for in the ITM Cup and the in Super Rugby. Career A South Island native, Hill started out his senior career for the Dunedin based ...

and a competitive balance round B draft pick in the

2020 MLB draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

. In 2020, Narváez hit .176/.294/.269/.562 in 40 games. Narváez was selected to the

2021 MLB All-Star Game The 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 91st Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the Colorado Rockies and played at Coors Field on July 13, with the American League (AL) defeating the National League (NL) 5– ...

. In 2021, he batted .266/.342/.402/.743 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs.

New York Mets

Narváez signed a one-year contract with the

on December 22, 2022.

References

External links

Venezuelan Youth Dream of Baseball Careers in US Leagues
(2010) from

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via

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez, Omar 1992 births Living people Birmingham Barons players Bravos de Margarita players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Gulf Coast Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Kannapolis Intimidators players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players Princeton Rays players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Maracay Venezuelan Summer League Rays players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Winston-Salem Dash players