PAWTUCKET, R.I. — The fallout from Victor Martinez’s broken thumb is extending far beyond the Red Sox roster.
After the Red Sox called up Gustavo Molina from Triple-A, PawSox manager Torey Lovullo was left with a bit of a catching conundrum himself.
Hand injuries to Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner mean that the PawSox were forced to call up Daniel Butler and Juan Apodaca, who will bat ninth against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night.
The situation certainly isn’t the ideal, but it’s not exactly a striking development in the world of Triple-A baseball.
"Boston has provided an opportunity for Molina to go up there and serve in a backup role. Here, we kind of had some guys pushed up," Lovullo said prior to Tuesday’s game. "Unfortunately, with Wagner getting hurt and Dusty Brown getting hurt, it wasn't how it was supposed to be written up, but it's a game of opportunity and we'll look for these guys to impress."
Impress is exactly what Apodaca has done over the past couple of days with Pawtucket. The catcher has made it clear to Lovullo that he’s ready for the promotion and will serve as an ample commodity until Pawtucket’s injury situation regulates.
"Over the past couple days, he's done a great job following a game plan and running a ballgame," Lovullo said of Apodaca. "We're very pleased with what we saw. I don't have much of a history with him, unfortunately, because I'm new to the organization, and I just have to go on what I've seen in the last couple days, which has been very good."
Another benefit Apodaca brings to the table? Familiarity with the pitching staff that is already in place in Pawtucket. In light of being dealt an injury situation that had the potential to be perilous, the manager said that Apodaca is exactly what the club needs.
"In [this] environment, what you want to have is a guy who's going to read swings, take control of the pitching situation and be a fearless leader," he said. "Juan seems to have that ingredient. He's done really well in the past couple days. He's given us offense, too.
"It's not what you want. There's no doubt about it. It's not the ideal mode for us, but we've been dealt the cards, and now we have to play them. What it does is provide a chance for some younger players to shine."
