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Will Sox Cash in on a fill-in for Martinez? 06.28.10 at 11:53 am ET
By Alex Speier

Though catcher Victor Martinez having suffered a fracture of the top of his left thumb on Sunday, the Red Sox are hopeful that an exam today will reveal that the 31-year-old might be able to avoid the disabled list. But, if he does get sidelined for any period of time, there is one obvious candidate to serve as a short-term fill-in: Kevin Cash.

With minor-league catchers Mark Wagner and Dusty Brown both on the disabled list for Triple-A Pawtucket, the Sox are without any minor-league catchers in their system who have meaningful experience trying to corral knuckleballs. Both Wagner and Brown have had occasion to work with Tim Wakefield in spring training, and they also have experience catching former Sox minor leaguer Charlie Zink. But the injuries to both leave the Sox without an obvious in-house alternative to Jason Varitek to work with Wakefield in the pitcher’s next start.

Cash, of course, was Wakefield’s catcher for all of the 2008 season, and he also has experience catching Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett (as well as relievers such as Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima). Cash was designated for assignment last week by the Astros, who wanted to clear a roster spot for top prospect Jason Castro. He was hitting .204 with a .271 OBP, .333 slugging mark and .605 OPS in 20 games for Houston this year.

Cash accepted an assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, but the 32-year-old would likely be available for a minimal acquisition cost. He is “definitely out there” as an available catcher, according to one major-league source, and if Martinez is sidelined — again, something the Sox are hoping will not be the case — he would be an obvious fit as a short-term fill-in.

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  • Sherman

    Cash is not the answer for Martinez,the Red Sox need a catcher that can be affective at the plate also,and Cash is not the catcher!The Red Sox need to spend money for a hitting catcher,and not worry about someone to catch Wakefield.Wakefield has not been much of a help to the team winning games,he has lost more than he has won,I say put him back in the pen and go with Scott A. until Beckett returns.

  • Niko

    Cash would be a perfect fill-in for the next two weeks. Martinez would almost certainly be ready after the all-star break, and the Sox may basically need an emergency option behind Varitek until then. Beckett won’t be back before that either, so moving Wake out of the rotation prior to the break is not a possibility. I advocate DLing Martinez in order for him to be 100% the rest of the way.

  • http://fantasybaseballhotstove.com Mark

    Get him. Why not? Sherman why would you want to spend money to get a hitting catcher and who exactly do you have in mind? We already have one of those and there are about 20 teams in the league that are looking for a hitting catcher. They don’t exist, and if they do you have to give up Casey Kelly or Lars Anderson to get him. That would be silly and fruitless. Let’s tread water for two weeks.

  • Steve

    I’m thinking no on Cash. He is far too light in the hitting category. I’d prefer to give Luis Exposito (Portland AA) a couple of weeks of big league experience and see how he deals with it. He has a decent bat (.260) with some power (5 HR) that drives in runs (53 RBI) and made only 3 errors in 67 catching appearances. He’s entirely free for us to just call up; no trade required.

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