The Red Sox will be getting some more production from the catching position with the return of Victor Martinez. It would be tough to get any less.
Since Martinez and Jason Varitek got hurt, Boston backstops have been a big black hole in the lineup.
Gustavo Molina played four games in Boston after getting called up from Pawtucket on June 29. He collected one hit in his seven at-bats before being designated for assignment to make room for Michael Bowden.
Kevin Cash has hit .149 in his return to Boston after being acquired from Houston on July 1. In 17 games played, he has seven hits and a .380 OPS (Josh Hamilton’s batting average in Texas is almost higher).
Dusty Brown caught Daisuke Matsuzaka on Sunday in Seattle and had a hit next to his name in the box score, his second of the season. He is hitting .182.
The catching trio of Brown, Cash and Molina has combined for 10 hits in 65 at-bats since Martinez and Varitek went down. That is a collective .153 batting average.
The Red Sox were two games back of the Yankees in the AL East on June 27 – the day Martinez fractured his thumb in San Francisco — and had the third-best record in the AL.
In the past month, the Red Sox have dropped six games in the standings (they currently are eight games behind the first-place Yankees in the East) and have the fourth-worst record in the AL at 9-13.
The news of Martinez potentially coming off of the DL for the final three-game set of the Boston’s 10-game West Coast swing is promising. The offense has sputtered, to say the least, and he will revamp the offensive side of the catcher position.
The Red Sox could use any lift they could possibly get, and getting their starting catcher back could be just what they need.
