Ryan Lavarnway could be promoted while Ortiz is out, as a possible “warm-up’ in the event of a Kelly Shoppach trade.It is highly unlikely that we will see an every day replacement at DH while David Ortiz recovers from the Achilles injury he suffered last night, it will likely be a platoon of players filling the position. Something to keep your eye on, however, is the potential promotion of Catcher Ryan Lavarnway from Pawtucket and Third/First Baseman Muaro Gomez to get some of those At-Bats in Big Papi’s absence. NESN’s Peter Gammons thinks that those two would be the first to get the call, if any is even made- while Ortiz recovers. Lavarnway is hitting .299 in AAA Pawtucket with seven home runs and 38 RBI, while Gomez hit .308 in an eight game stint with the Red Sox, logging three RBI and eight hits.
The Lavarnway call-up makes the most sense, given the Kelly Shoppach to the Mets trade rumors. This would give Lavarnway some more Major League experience in the event of a trade, given that the Sox would need a back-up catcher with Shoppach in New York. Lavarnway has yet to make an appearance in the Majors this year.
