TORONTO — ESPN's Buster Olney said in a Boston radio interview Wednesday that the Red Sox may try to upgrade from catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
TORONTO — ESPN's Buster Olney said in a Boston radio interview Wednesday that the Red Sox may try to upgrade from catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Saltalamacchia, a day shy of his 28th birthday and a free agent to be, has a .232/.321/.435 line in 78 plate appearances and 20 games, 17 of them starts behind the plate. He has three home runs and eight RBIs, and remains a power threat.
“With Saltalamacchia, I’ve heard this from executives of other teams," Olney said, via WEEI.com. "They say they think that the Red Sox will be looking for an upgrade at that position, possibly even before the trade deadline at some point. They feel like, given the money that they’re paying him, he’s got to perform better than how he’s been performing at the beginning of this year."
Saltalmacchia had a lapse on Tuesday in a 9-7 loss when he did not mention his elbow caught the home-plate umpire on an errant pick-off throw to first base. Saltalmacchia said he did not know the rule. Red Sox manager John Farrell said Wednesday that Saltalamacchia should have known.
"My gut feel of that is yes," Farrell said in a radio interview with WEEI on Wednesday afternoon. "Any time that you get caught up with the umpire's mask, you would think that there would be a reaction to say 'You know what, hey, something didn't quite go right here.'"
Saltalmacchia's 0-for-12 in throwing out base stealers this season. Only two other catchers who have played at least 15 games haven't had at least one runner caught stealing — Seattle's Jesus Montero (10 steals) and Oakland's Derek Norris (8).
Saltalamacchia has a catcher's ERA 3.85 ERA, which puts him 13th in the majors for catchers with at least 15 games played.
David Ross has played nine games with Saltalmacchia as Boston's alternate behind the plate. In 30 plate appearances, Ross has a .241/.267/.552 line with three home runs. He's 3-for-10 in catching base stealers, and has a 3.08 catcher's ERA.
According to fWAR, Saltalmacchia and Ross have basically been equivalent contributors — despite the difference in playing time.
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