Chicago White Sox backup catcher Ramon Castro suffered a broken right hand in the eighth inning of Saturday's 4-3 win against the Minnesota Twins.
Now, with Castro likely out for an extended period of time, the White Sox must decide who is going to fill Castro's cleats behind starter A.J. Pierzynski.
The White Sox are in no position to see a big drop-off on the field, even fro someone who catches every fifth day or so. Before the team's win on Saturday, the White Sox had lost four straight games and five of six overall.
Right now, the Sox are 4.5 games out of first place in the American League Central, behind the surprising Cleveland Indians. And they also have the Detroit Tigers to deal with, who currently lead them by half a game.
At 44-47, it hasn't been quite the season the Sox expected, given some had them winning the division this year. In fact, with a sub-.500 record, they're lucky they're even in the race for a postseason spot.
All indications right now point to the team bringing up prospect Tyler Flowers, who has been hitting .255 with 14 home runs in 64 games from Triple-A Charlotte. He's been hitting .303 in his last 10 games.
However, his production in the big leagues may be a different story. Maintaining a high average in the majors hasn't been Flowers' creed in limited action with the White Sox, collecting just four hits in 27 at-bats for the club ranging from 2008 to 2009.
Given Castro will be out for a while, it may be too risky for the White Sox to pin their hopes on Flowers for the rest of the season.
Therefore, they might look for a backup catcher before the trade deadline on July 31.
The Dodgers' Rod Barajas, Blue Jays' Jose Molina or Royals' Matt Treanor are possibilities, but the White Sox likely aren't going to be privy to give up too much for a backup, either.
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