NEW YORK -- The Boston Red Sox are talking to Baltimore
about a trade for Javy Lopez, hoping the former All-Star could take
over as their full-time catcher while Jason Varitek recovers from a
knee injury.
"We're obviously optimistic and hopeful something is about to
happen," Lopez's agent, Chuck Berry, said Thursday night. "We've
become aware of the Boston possibility, and there have been
discussions."
Varitek had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee earlier in the
day and was expected to start rehabilitation right away. The Red
Sox have not given an indication of when their captain might
return.
The Red Sox are competing with New York for the AL East title
while the Orioles have fallen out of contention. Boston would
likely send a prospect to the Orioles and pick up a portion of his
salary.
At 35, Lopez is in the final season of a $22.5 million,
three-year contract he signed as a free agent with the Orioles in
December 2003. He got that deal after hitting .328 with 43 home
runs and 109 RBIss for Atlanta, his third All-Star season for the
Braves.
Lopez lost spots as Baltimore's starting catcher and designated
hitter this season, and was hoping to get dealt before July 31, the
deadline for making deals without waivers.
Lopez is hitting .265 with eight home runs and 31 RBIss in 279
at-bats. He has caught in only 21 of the Orioles' 109 games as a
backup to Ramon Hernandez.
"I've got no position on this team. I don't see why they really
need me," Lopez said this week. "I'm not meant to play once a
week. ... I cannot be happy in this situation. They probably have
their plan, and I don't think they're going to keep me like this
until the end of the season. They're probably going to do something
sooner or later."
Berry said Orioles executive vice president Mike Flanagan had
been "very cooperative" in trying to accommodate Lopez.
"They want to make something work, if it can," he said.