Varitek had been moved into the starting role behind the plate when Victor Martinez suffered a broken bone in his hand over the weekend in San Francisco. That lasted just two games for Varitek.
That leaves the catching situation in the uncertain hands of Gustavo Molina and Kevin Cash, the former Sox catcher who was acquired on Thursday night.
Molina entered Wednesday night's game to catch in the ninth inning. Prior to that, he had caught just 100 innings in the majors. In 35 career at-bats, he owns a .114 batting average with one extra-base hit and one RBI. Molina got the call because Triple-A Pawtucket's catchers, Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner, were both injured as well.
Cash was traded from the Astros on Thursday in exchange for Angel Sanchez. Cash was a member of the Red Sox from 2007-08, when he hit .207 with three homers and 19 RBIs in 73 games. He's a career .188 hitter with the Blue Jays, Devil Rays, Red Sox, Yankees and Astros.
In his 14 years with the Red Sox, Varitek has largely been able to avoid the disabled list. He missed about a month during the 2006 season, but he averaged over 130 games per season from 2002-05 and 2007-08.
Varitek joins a list of injured Red Sox players that has reached the point of it being comical. Dustin Pedroia (broken foot) and Martinez were placed on the DL this week, while Josh Beckett (back), Jacoby Ellsbury (ribs), Jeremy Hermida (ribs) and Mike Lowell (hip) have all been on the DL for extended time.
