Red Sox rumors: Boston shopping Saltalamacchia, Lavarnway?

The Boston Red Sox could trade one of their two incumbent catchers -- Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Ryan Lavarnway -- now that they have signed veteran backstop David Ross to a two-year deal, reports Tim Britton of the Providence Journal:

Ross will play more than a regular backup but not as much as a starter.

That leaves the door open for Boston to move one of the catchers in hand...

The markets for each player would differ, since Saltalamacchia would fit more with a win-now approach while Lavarnway is more of a long-term solution behind the plate.

Britton speculates that the Chicago White Sox would make the most sense as a landing spot for the 27-year-old Saltalamacchia, who has spent the past three seasons in Boston. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Red Sox have been shopping the switch-hitting catcher "for weeks". Salty batted .222/.288/.454 with twenty-five home runs in one hundred twenty-one games this past season.

The Mets could be the top candidate to go after Lavarnway, per Britton, and the Sox could bring back some much-needed starting pitching in a trade with New York. Considered Boston's "catcher of the future", the 25-year-old Lavarnway has had brief stints with the club over the past two seasons, hitting just .172/.230/.286 with four home runs in sixty-three games. The right-handed hitting backstop has performed much better at Triple-A, hitting .295/.382/.511 with twenty-six home runs in one hundred forty-four games.