Salty is No. 1, Ross is the game's best backup, and what will all that mean?
Boston Red Sox catcher David Ross, right, talks to pitcher Jon Lester during spring training in Fort Myers. Ross offers a highly-regarded backup to No. 1 catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
FORT MYERS, Fla. - One of the more interesting questions about this Red Sox team could shape up behind home plate.
In Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the Sox have a man who came within one home run of matching the franchise single-season record for catchers. In David Ross, they have a man often called the best backup receiver in baseball.
In John Farrell, they have a former pitcher and pitching coach turned manager, and one well attuned to the value of defense behind the plate.
On Tuesday, Farrell was asked about how he foresaw playing time at catcher. It was the first time he was posed the question, but don't expect it to be the last.
Farrell's answer was necessarily unspecific. Backup catchers usually get no more than 35 to 40 games, he said, and Ross' talents deserve more than that.
He also said he did not see "a drastic reduction'' in at-bats for Saltalamacchia, who hit 25 home runs in 448 plate appearances last year.
The 35-40 game range for backups is actually somewhat liberal. What Farrell does not want is for pitchers to feel comfortable throwing to only one catcher (read: Ross) or worse, demand it.
The current crew won't do that. Josh Beckett denied he wanted to avoid pitching to certain catchers (read: Saltalamacchia), but he was the fussiest of the starters, and he's gone.
Salty has also improved over the years, winning larger shares of trust from Red Sox pitchers who have always liked him. In terms of calling a game, however, he is better than the Salty of 2010 but he is not considered as good as Ross.
As for Salty's power, those 25 home runs produced only 59 RBIs. He hit only .222 and struck out 139 times, and too often became the guy you might not want at the plate in a game-deciding spot.
If Ross is a defensive expert, the obvious reason to give Saltalamacchia more playing time is that he provides more offense while offering sufficient defense. Ross, however, is no automatic out.
Over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Ross averaged 19 home runs a year, but that was many foul tips and collisions ago. He hit nine homers in 196 plate appearances for the Braves last year, and his .256 average was higher than his career mark of .238 - which nuzzles right alongside Salty's career average of .239.
Ross' averages for his last four seasons, in fact, have all been higher than his career mark, with a .289 average in 2010.
As for the best-backup label, it is not a half-hearted compliment. It is genuine praise.
When Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez made out his lineup for the one-and-done wild-card playoff game in October, he benched Brian McCann and went with Ross. This begs the question of why, if Ross is that good, he hasn't been a starter.
The answer might be that some players are best when not overexposed. Offensively, Ross is probably one of those players.
He has played between 52 and 62 games per year since 2009. Defensively, he gives a solid presence whenever he plays.
That will be noticed by Farrell, whose first tenure with the Red Sox came when Jason Varitek was establishing how much value could be offered by a catcher who put defense first.
Varitek is back as a special assistant to the general manager. That will help Salty, as it has in the past, but it will also serve as a reminder of the value of defense.
The ideal plan would be for Farrell to avoid matching certain pitchers with certain catchers, as he hopes and plans. That will allow him the obvious platoon options - switching catchers for day games after night games, or using the righty-hitting Ross against left-handers, since Salty hits better left-handed and had 24 of his 25 home runs from that side.
It would allow him to play Ross in that comfort zone of 55 to 60 games, making Ross more than your average backup catcher, but not overexposed. Those extra games could be filtered in when Saltalamacchia, a noted streak hitter who can get very hot or very cold, found himself sliding into a slump and needed a day off.
To make this work, Saltalamacchia must continue to improve defensively, making use of a powerful arm while honing his game-calling skills. He turns 28 in May, so he is still fairly young as No. 1 catchers go.
He also has to cut down his strikeouts. If he doesn't, the pressure surface to play Ross more often, even if that risks playing him too much.
The potential for a quality catching tandem is there. A few questions are there, too.
How Farrell and his catchers negotiate through them could be one of the more interesting subplots of this Red Sox season.