Projo Sox Blog

The team has announced that they have cut catcher Josh Bard, who came into camp as the leader in the battle to back up Jason Varitek at catcher.

General Manager Theo Epstein says that the backup job "is George Kottaras's to lose.''

Bard signed a $1.7 million non-guaranteed contract with Boston in December, marking his second stint with the team. Bard came to Boston in 2006 to back up Varitek, but couldn't catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball, and was quickly shipped to San Diego along with relief pitcher Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli.

Bard is a career .265 hitter with 33 home runs in eight big-league seasons with Cleveland, San Diego, and Boston.

Bard was having a healthy spring at the plate, batting .429 with one home run and five RBI in 14 at-bats. He was succeeding with Wakefield's knuckleball, though the tandem was vulnerable to base stealers.

Kottaras is out of minor league options, meaning another team could claim him if the Red Sox tried to send him down to Triple-A. Kottaras successfully caught Tim Wakefield late last week, perhaps clearing the way for this move with Bard.

Kottaras said yesterday that he hoped that session gave the team the confidence to trust him as the backup.

"I was proud of the way that I caught it," Kottaras said. "I got my opportunity, and hopefully they can go based on that.

Kottaras is hitting .286 with one home run and two RBI in 14 spring at-bats. The 25-year-old hit .243 with 22 home runs -- and a .348 OBP -- last year at Pawtucket.

 Tags  Dan Barbarisi Dusty Brown George Kottaras Josh Bard

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