This week, the Red Sox have been in talks that will send Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers for minor league catcher Max Ramirez.
This trade has raised many questions. One being, will Max Ramirez now be the third catcher in the Red Sox organization in front of Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner?
If Ramirez is the third catcher, it would upset me, as a Red Sox fan, due to the fact that Dusty Brown will most likely not get playing time.
Brown was originally selected in the 35th round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Red Sox and has frequently been on the Red Sox's spring training team, but had not played in the majors until the 2009 season. Brown was called up on June 21, but was then sent back down to Triple-A two days after.
During the season, Brown actually pitched for the Red Sox in a blowout against the Blue Jays. Brown became the first catcher to ever pitch for the Red Sox.
In an October 3rd game against the Indians, Brown hit in his first ever major league at bat.
Though Brown only had a small number of at bats, he batted .333 this year.
Which brings me to my point, Dusty Brown looks like he could be a solid replacement for Jason Varitek upon his retirement and the Sox already have Mark Wagner in the minors. Why would Theo Epstein make this deal?
This deal makes no sense to myself and many other Red Sox fans. All I can hope, is that Brown gets a shot to play this year, and that trading Mike Lowell won't hurt the team in 2010.
