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With Victor Martinez moving on and Jason Varitek no longer an every-day catcher even if he stays in Boston, it's clear that the backstop position is going to look very different in Beantown in 2011. While Peter Gammons is confident that the Sox are comfortable going with Jarrod Saltalamacchia as their everyday man, there's still a lot of time left in the offseason for Theo Epstein to make a move.
Reports have the Sox interested in Rod Barajas, although such a signing would have little fantasy relevance because Barajas would likely play a back-up/mentoring role to Saltalamacchia, but two of the more intriguing possibilities are Mike Napoli and Russell Martin. Napoli has excellent power and has shown the ability to draw walks, despite Mike Scioscia's genius advice, but he would need to be acquired through trade. Martin has very good plate discipline but not much else and would have to be non-tendered by the Dodgers before the Red Sox could pick him up. Saltalamacchia has shown that he can hit well at the Minor League level but hasn't lived up to the hype in the Majors. He's still only twenty-five, though, and it's possible that a change of environment and coaching will prompt a breakout.
None of the people on the list for Boston look to be in the upper tier of fantasy catchers for 2011. Still, definitely keep track of the situation, as the difference between a good second or third tier catcher and a bad one can be the difference between a frustrating roster spot and one you're satisfied with.
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