BOSTON — The Red Sox needed a catcher. Victor Martinez went down, and days later, Jason Varitek joined him. The organization’s two best prospects were already out of commission.
Enter Kevin Cash.
"I don't need to sit up here ever and evaluate Theo [Epstein] – that's not what I'm trying to do here – but in a short period of time, he went and got, in my opinion, the perfect guy," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said prior to Friday’s series opener against Baltimore. "He's a guy who's caught here before, knows our staff, knows our coaches, knows our team. He walked through that door today, and it was a welcome sight. He'll help us."
Cash last played for Boston in 2008 before jumping ship to New York in 2009 and signing with Houston at the beginning of this season. He was primarily used as Tim Wakefield’s catcher two seasons ago, and that’s what he’ll do when the knuckleballer takes the mound Friday.
In 61 games with Boston in 2008, Cash hit .225 with three homers and 15 RBIs.
In what has quickly become a desperate situation throughout the entire Red Sox organization, Epstein efficiently acquired a player that can help return some much-needed stability to a decimated roster.
"Our baseball [operations] guys did a great job in a hurry," Francona said. "In a situation that was kind of happening quickly, to get a guy like that … I think he's the perfect guy. I think it was kind of unanimous from the coaching staff to Theo. Then to get him that quickly — I think we're very appreciative."
Varitek, who entered the Red Sox clubhouse on Friday with a boot and crutches, sustained his injury in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game against Tampa Bay, when Carl Crawford foul-tipped a pitch off the catcher’s right foot.
While the timetable for Varitek's return is uncertain, Francona said the veteran won’t be able to put weight on the foot for at least two to three weeks.
"He was examined after the game … and everything was actually clean," Francona said. "Next morning, he woke up and was real sore. We sent him over to [Mass General Hospital], and it revealed a minimally displaced fracture of … on top of his foot, the metatarsal."
Francona compared the injury to the one afflicting second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
"It's very similar to Pedey, except it's in a different bone," he said. "It's on top of the foot, to the side. He needs to be in a boot, and he needs to be non-weight-bearing for two to three weeks. We'll see how quickly he can heal."
While both catchers begin their recuperation, neither of them plans to be out of the equation entirely. Varitek said he and Martinez plan to be available to Cash and Gustavo Molina as much as they are needed.
"Any feedback they need, if they need any questions [answered], how certain things transpire, certain pitches, certain hitters," Varitek said.
The injury situation seems to grow more perilous by the day — five roster players (Martinez, Varitek, Pedroia, Manny Delcarmen, Clay Buchholz) have gone down in the past week alone — but no good will come of focusing on that.
"The best way to go about it is just to play good [on Friday], stop thinking about two weeks from now," Francona said. "That could seem a little daunting, and it's energy we don't need to spend. We'll just try to play good [Friday], move on to [Saturday] and handle what we're supposed to handle. Hopefully, we'll start getting guys healthier instead of coming up here and talking about guys going the other way."
As Varitek said, there’s a reason this team is in the position it’s in.
"We're in a good spot — that's the good thing," he said. "Really, we are. Just to be where we're at right now with everything, even to this point, this team's had to deal with — starting with, most importantly, starting pitching — and losing a couple guys and having to adjust to that and move from there … we're in a good spot."
