When former Red Sox farmhand and periodic call-up Kevin Cash was dealt back to Beantown Thursday afternoon, he seemed poised to resume familiar backup duties behind veteran catcher Jason Varitek.
During Boston’s 2007 Championship run, Cash spotted both Varitek and Doug Mirabelli—Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher—for 12 games in which he hit .111. Although the following season saw Cash raise his average to .225 as he assumed full-time the backup catching responsibilities formerly handled by Mirabelli, he was non-tendered by the Sox and eventually signed with the Yankees.
This week, as a fractured left thumb landed starting catcher Victor Martinez on the disabled list, Cash’s acquisition seemed a necessary step toward providing Varitek adequate backup behind the dish. Varitek would handle the starting job, and Cash would fall seamlessly into an organization he had already known quite well.
That was Thursday afternoon.
Thursday night it became abundantly clear—as Varitek limped through a charity event—that Cash himself might need backup before too long.
As it turns out, Varitek apparently broke his foot off a foul tip during Wednesday’s contest with the Tampa Bay Rays.
With Martinez and Varitek down to injury, Cash is now returning to Boston as the starting catcher. For the time being, Gustavo Molina has been activated to assume backup duties.
This writer, interestingly enough, had this to say about Molina during Spring Training: “At his best, Molina will spend the year with the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA), post career numbers, and receive a MLB call up only if better catchers drop like bloop singles before him.”
Better catchers have, indeed, dropped like dying quails and cleared the path for both Cash and Molina.
This season, Cash has batted .204/.333/.271 for the Astros, and Molina has hit .239/.418/.292 for the Pawtucket Red Sox.
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