BOSTON -- The Red Sox called up 23-year-old catcher Blake Swihart, the consensus choice as the top prospect in their organization, to replace veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan.
Swihart started and battted ninth in Saturday afternoon's 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees. He went 1-for-3 with an infield single, a walk, a run scored and two strikeouts.
Hanigan fractured the knuckle on his right pinky finger. He underwent surgery Saturday and had pins inserted into his finger, according to manager John Farrell, who described the injury as a displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal bone. The injury is commonly referred to as a "boxer's fracture." Dr. Matthew Leibman performed the operation at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Farrell said that Hanigan isn't expected to return until after the All-Star break.
Hanigan, who had started 17 of Boston's first 23 games, was injured on a freak play in the seventh inning, when a pitch from Tommy Layne that struck Yankees batter Mark Teixeira in the hand caromed and struck Hanigan in his throwing hand. He came out of the game and was replaced by Sandy Leon.
"We were starting to gain some traction,'' Farrell said. "[Hanigan] has put up a lot of competitive at-bats, and we'll miss his presence behind the plate. But we as a group have to be resilient at times like this.''
The switch-hitting Swihart, who did not play in Pawtucket's 5-1 loss to Durham Friday night but has started 14 of the team's past 16 games, hit a team-leading .338 in 18 games in April, with six multihit games, including one four-hit game. He started 15 games behind the plate, committing one error and throwing out three of 10 baserunners attempting to steal.
When the Sox lost No. 1 catcher Christian Vazquez near the end of spring training to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, the Sox elected to reach outside the organization to acquire Leon from the Washington Nationals. The plan at that time was to give Swihart, who played at Double-A Portland last season until his promotion to Pawtucket on Aug. 4, more time to develop.
But circumstances have forced a change in plans. The former No. 1 draft pick in 2011 (26th overall), just added to the 40-man major league roster for the first time last November, is on his way to the big leagues. Is the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Swihart ready?
Vazquez, who has been a year ahead of Swihart in their climb through the minor league system, believes so.
"He's a good player, man," Vazquez said. "He's got the skills and everything, man. He's going to be good if they call him up, of course."
Pitcher Justin Masterson, who went six innings Friday but was not involved in the decision, pitched to Swihart once in spring training.
"Is he ready? Who knows?" Masterson said."Does he have to be? Yeah. I think he's good defensively, good arm, a switch-hitter, do some good things, comes down to getting on the same page behind the dish, and that's something Hanigan did really well.
"We also got Sandy. He's got some good hands, can do some good stuff."