Victor Martinez Activated And Back Catching For The Red Sox

After missing nearly a month with a broken thumb, Victor Martinez made his return to the Red Sox' lineup Monday night in Anaheim.

In his first game sine June 27, Martinez went 1-for-4, his lone hit an RBI-single in his first at-bat (on the first pitch, no less).

Martinez was expected to play again Tuesday night, but will likely sit out Wednesday's day game.

The mass exodus from the Red Sox' disabled list is set to begin. While nothing is yet set in stone, catcher Victor Martinez, on the 15-day DL since June 29 with a broken thumb, is expected to be playing Monday, when Boston opens a three-game series in Anaheim. Terry Francona said, “all things point to him being ready to go."

"I actually think hes probably going to be ready [on Monday]," he said. "It's silly to make the decision today. He's going to catch some guys [in the bullpen]. If he comes in and says, 'Hey, I'm hurting,' then we're not going to do it. But I think all things point to him being ready to go."

Victor Martinez will officially be placed on the 15-day disabled list before Tuesday night's game with the Rays. Gustavo Molina will be called up from Pawtucket to take his spot on the roster -- and his position behind the plate when Jason Varitek needs a day off.

While the Sox had been holding out some hope that they might be able to avoid a DL stint for Martinez, the upcoming schedule represented a best case scenario for doing so. Thanks to two off days this week and the forthcoming All-Star break, Martinez will miss only 11 games.

Boston is hoping for a July 15 return, when the Red Sox open their post-All-Star Game schedule at home against Texas.

It's (almost) official: Victor Martinez is expected to hit the disabled list Tuesday:

Victor Martinez, as the Red Sox said in their release, will not need surgery on his left thumb. But sources told the Globe that the Red Sox will place him on the 15-day disabled list tomorrow.

[...]

By placing Martinez on the disabled list now, he would miss only 11 games (over a span of 17 days) before the Red Sox play Texas after the All-Star break. That would give Martinez sufficient time to recover from his injury.

At the same time, the two days off on the schedule between now and the break would minimize the need for a backup. The Red Sox are comfortable using Jason Varitek as their starter with Molina (or another catcher) starting once or twice.

Gustavo Molina, a catcher, is expected to be called up from Pawtucket to replace Martinez on the roster. Molina is hitting .239 with a .292 on-base percentage in 21 games for the PawSox.

With Victor Martinez down and out, the Red Sox may have to turn to an old friend to fill the gap:

Doug Mirabelli.

No, not really. But Kevin Cash is certainly a possibility, according to WEEI's Alex Speier:

But, if [Martinez] 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 batted .225/.309/.338 in 61 games with the Red Sox in 2008. The Red Sox are big fans of bringing back old catchers (but not Doug Mirabelli ... again), so this move wouldn't be much of a shock if it does happen.

More is already known about Victor Martinez and his broken left thumb: the catcher suffered a "fractured distal phalanx" (which means he broke the bone in the very tip of his thumb, duh) in Sunday's game against the Giants.

The fracture is a result of Martinez getting hit with a pair of foul balls, one in the second inning and then another in the third, off the bat of Andres Torres. It was the latter that did the most damage, bending the thumb back in Martinez's glove. Like Dustin Pedroia, Martinez will be further examined on Monday.

"Dr. [Thomas] Gil has already seen the x-rays. It's not a given that he goes on the DL," Terry Francona said. "What bothered him today ... it was swollen, he was having trouble getting it in his glove. It's not a given that he'll go on the DL. It's not a given that he's going to be OK, either. We'll get him examined tomorrow and see where we go from there."

It's obviously very early, but Martinez does not think he will need to go on the DL. He added, "By the time I got to the dugout, it was starting to get [swollen]. I couldn't put my hand in the glove. It was kind of painful."

Boston has Monday off before opening a two-game series at Fenway Park with Tampa Bay. The Rays are third in the AL East, just one game back of the second-place Red Sox.