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.
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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.