The Red Sox didn't have an established emergency catching plan going into the 2023 Major League Baseball season.
Alex Cora still might not have a go-to guy for the situation, but one member of Boston's roster appears to have a leg up on the rest of the possibilities.
Boston ran into a suboptimal scenario behind the dish Saturday night in its narrow road loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Reese McGuire pinch hit for Connor Wong in the seventh, and one inning later, the former took a foul tip off his throwing hand. Fortunately for the Red Sox, McGuire was able to tough it out and stayed in the game.
Asked about Boston's emergency catcher Sunday morning, Cora floated the likeliest candidate who already employs a backstop tactic.
"Probably (first baseman) Triston Casas," Cora told reporters, per MassLive. "I asked Casas this morning, 'Have you (caught) before?' And he said yes. I'm like, 'Ok, cool.' And he doesn't have problems with the signs because of the nail polish. He was talking about PitchCom and I said, 'No, we've got your fingers.' We're good with that."
Cora also joked the Red Sox would have to order larger catching equipment for Casas, who stands at 6-foot-4 and 252 pounds. But unless disaster strikes, Boston fans can count on Casas taking up his usual post at first base.
That's where he'll be Sunday when the Red Sox and Brewers wrap up their three-game set. Full coverage of the series finale can be found on NESN+.
