Determination Lands Former Wahoos' Catcher Brian Navarreto With Ultimate Goal 

The virtues Brian Navarreto learned from his parents in Puerto Rico about hard work carried him through an arduous journey in professional baseball.

“A lot of times I thought I was done,” he said. “But I never quit.”

And now, he’s fulfilled the ultimate quest.

Navarreto, a catcher, who played 40 games last season with the Blue Wahoos, connecting with Pensacola fans with his infectious smile and caring heart, made his major league debut in a big way with the Miami Marlins.

He had two hits in three at-bats Sunday, while becoming the 13th player from the 2019 Blue Wahoos team to reach the big leagues. He was summoned Saturday from the Marlins alternative training site in Jupiter, where the team has its spring training home.

An injury to the Marlins’ starting catcher Francisco Cervelli opened the path for Navarreto’s big moment.

“Always keep working,” said Navarreto in a video conference with media members after Sunday’s game. “Because you never know what is going to happen.”

In this case, the journey included seven different minor league stops in seven years. After being traded July 25, 2019 by the Minnesota Twins to the New York Yankees, Navaretto finished the season with the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate, the Trenton (N.J.) Thunder.

He then became a free agent in November and signed a month later with the Marlins.

Working in Navaretto’s favor, he won’t turn 26 until December. He was drafted in the sixth round in 2013 by the Twins after his senior year at Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville. It was where Navarreto’s family moved after being in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

“Sometimes I was thinking… it was so hard,” said Navarreto, describing the emotional ups-and-downs of minor league baseball and trying to reach the big leagues. “I still kept working hard. (Taking parents’ advice) to go in the right line, always keep working. You know about today, not about tomorrow.”

Today, he knows about the unforgettable memory he enjoyed.

After getting his first hit Sunday, along with getting the baseball, it will be a keepsake Navaretto will present to his mother. She is former hospital nurse in Puerto Rico caring for special needs children and adults.

She has kept a shrine of Navarreto’s big moments.

“Everywhere I have played, she has everything, bats, hats, balls,” he said. “Every home run I have hit in the minors. I think this is going to be special for my mom.”

Behind the plate, Navarreto joined Marlins teammate, pitcher Brandon Leibrandt, who threw four scoreless innings Sunday, in making their MLB debut. Last week, first baseman Lewin Diaz, who played with Navarreto last season in Pensacola and is now wit the Marlins, made his debut.

In all, the Blue Wahoos have nine players from 2019 now with the Twins, another four players on three other teams.

“I was thinking about all the hard work and it came true today,” Navarreto said.

Another former Blue Wahoos player, catcher Chad Wallach, who played in Pensacola when the team was affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, is with the Marlins and is recovering from COVID-19 symptoms.

His absence was another factor in the Marlins being short on catchers.

While Navarreto struggled at the plate for the Blue Wahoos, batting less than .200 in his 40 games, he made big hits in other ways. He always was willing to participate in fan autograph sessions for the Blue Wahoos in the Bait and Tackle Shop.

In a heartwarming moment last year during a free clinic at Blue Wahoos Stadium with special needs participants, Navarreto worked with each one like a family member, encouraging and sharing their joy when hitting the ball.

“I feel something inside for them,” Navarreto said at the time, explaining how he watch his mother care for special needs people and learned from her. “I want to make them feel proud, make them feel happy.”

Just like the feeling he experienced Sunday.

BLUE WAHOOS TO BIG LEAGUES

These are the players from the 2019 Blue Wahoos team, the Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate, who have played at least one game this year in the major leagues.

MINNESOTA TWINS – Infielder Luis Arraez, catcher Ryan Jeffers, outfielders Aaron Whitefield and Lamonte Wade Jr., pitchers Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak, Sean Poppen, Cody Stashak, Jorge Alcala.

MIAMI MARLINS – First baseman Lewin Diaz, catcher Brian Navarreto.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS – Outfielder Jaylin Davis.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS – Pitcher Brusdar Graterol.