Victor Martinez brings flexibility and power to Red Sox offense
8:10 PM Fri, Jul 31, 2009 | Permalink
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By Daniel Barbarisi "We think Victor Martinez is a great fit for our club," general manager Theo Epstein said. "He provides a significant offensive boost and he does it with some versatility that complements our roster really well. Obviously he can catch and give [Varitek] a little bit of a rest behind the plate, and he can play first base and get some at-bats there with Youkilis' versatility, and he can DH a little bit. So we thought it was a good fit for our roster, provide some offensive support and some depth at the same time." Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he hasn't yet worked out what this will mean for dividing playing time among regulars Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek. "No, I've had the phone coming out of my ear" all afternoon, Francona said. "There's a lot of things to like about Victor. He can help take a load off of Tek. We can do a lot of different things to hopefully be able to attack some of the best pitching in the league. I think that's the idea there," Francona said.
"I don't really know. We'll see as time dictates itself. I don't think, with the chaos of everything, they've had that opportunity to go through that. Either way, I think he's going to help our ballclub," Varitek said. Lowell, coming off hip surgery at age 35, could also see a slightly different role with the acquisition of the switch-hitting Martinez. "It might give us a little more flexibility when a lefty is pitching," Lowell said. "Victor can DH. You're not going to have David or [Adam LaRoche] getting that tough lefty-on-lefty matchup with Victor. They can put him at first and DH me. From a matchup standpoint, we have more flexibility." It could also mean the demotion of George Kottaras, who has served as Varitek's backup this season. Kottaras has caught Tim Wakefield and his knuckleball this year, but with Wakefield on the disabled list, and the superior offensive skills of Martinez in hand, Kottaras' future is unclear. Masterson served as both a reliever and a starter for Boston this season, beginning in the bullpen and then shifting into a starting role when Daisuke Matsuzaka went on the disabled list for the first time this season. He moved back to the bullpen when Matsuzaka returned to the rotation, and has remained there. The sidearming righty has a 4.50 ERA in 72 innings this season. Hagadone, 23, is a first-round pick out of Washington in 2007. He had Tommy John surgery in 2008, and returned to the mound in early June. "He's got a big future ahead of him, so it was hard to include him in a deal as well," Epstein said. Minor leaguer Bryan Price, a sandwich pick in 2008 whom Epstein called "another good kid who's an outstanding arm," also went to Cleveland in the deal. Martinez was the best offensive catcher in the business for most of 2004-07, but suffered through a miserable, injury-plagued 2008. Martinez, 30, rebounded with a scorching start in 2009, but has cooled of late. Still, the switch-hitter puts up rare offensive numbers for a catcher, and respectable ones for a first baseman. Martinez is hitting .287 with 15 home runs and 67 RBI, despite little lineup protection in Cleveland. Martinez earns $5.7 million this season for Cleveland, which automatically jumped to $6.2 million when he was traded. He has a $7-million club option for 2010, which escalates to $7.5 million after the trade. Epstein said that getting Martinez for at least a season and a half was a driving force behind the deal. "Having him for all of next year, and having him fit next year's club really well was a big part of this," Epstein said. 
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