Red Sox Interested in Catcher Dioner Navarro

According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Boston Red Sox have some interest in catcher Dioner Navarro to help shore up the club’s position behind the plate.

Silverman doesn’t state to which levels the Red Sox are interested in the former Cubs backstop, but it is another name to add to the catching carousel that currently spins around Red Sox Nation.

Last season with the Cubs, Navarro had a slash line of .300/.365/.492/.856 to go with 13 home runs and 34 RBI.  For his career he has a batting average of .251 with an OBP of .313 and a SLG of .371.

He is a switch hitter and will turn 30 in February both similar facts that compare him to Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  Navarro would be a much cheaper option than any of the previously mentioned free-agent catchers that the Red Sox were said to be interested in but he would also bring less of an offensive weapon to the lineup.

Over the course of his career Navarro has thrown out 29% of the base runners who tried stealing on him with his best season coming in 2010 when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.  That year the Venezuela native threw out an impressive 39% of the base runners that attempted a steal.  He was also an all-star in 2008 while playing in Tampa Bay.

Silverman also notes that A.J Pierzynski has drawn initial interest from the Red Sox, a name that has already been tied to the World Series Champions now that the hot stove is in full force.

Signing Navarro would be somewhat surprising for the Red Sox unless they firmly believe he and David Ross could platoon the position for most of the year while having Ryan Lavarnway as the backup plan.