The best part was when he referred to Ross as "perhaps the best backup catcher in baseball." Listen, I'm not here to make fun of Rosenthal, who as far as I'm concerned does a decent job, but I just thought it was a funny way to describe a player. Talk about a backhanded compliment. It's like in football if you called someone the best backup quarterback, what does that even mean?
Semantics aside, this was Boston's first official move of the offseason and it can mean only one thing: either Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Ryan Lavarnway will be traded soon enough. The last thing they need is three mediocre catchers that are all in the same range in terms of ability. Saltalamacchia has the most power but he strikes out way too much and is average at best defensively. Lavarnway's best asset is that he's young and cheap, which ultimately might push him past Salty.
Ross will be 36 next season so he certainly won't be the starter. In 62 games with the Braves last season, he hit nine homers and 23 RBIs with a .256 batting average, .321 OBP and .449 SLG. The Red Sox are his sixth team and ironically enough, he actually was here for eight games in 2008 (which I totally forgot). In his 12-year MLB career, he's sported a .238 batting average, .324 OBP and .444 SLG so I'm going to assume he's known more for his work behind the plate.
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