Hall, out for season, quickly replaced by veteran catcher
Neil McCaulley, Devil Rays columnist
With starting catcher Toby Hall gone for the season with a broken wrist, Tampa Bay GM Chcuk Lamar quickly got to work on the phones before the game he was watching against the Angels was done. Lamar was trying to secure either a backup to Brook Fordyce or a replacement for Hall.
"I called about for or five different clubs that we knew were carrying to solid catcher, hoping to be able to snag one of them to help us out," LaMar explained. "Luckily we found a trading partner pretty easily."
What the Devil Rays found was a Florida Marlins ballclub that was carrying two catcher, both fighting for playing time. Pretty painlessly, LaMar shipped disgruntled Devil Ray first basemanGreg Colbrunn to Florida in exchange for 33 year old catcher Mike Redmond.
Mike Redmond, Catcher
Greg Colbrunn, First Baseman
Mike Redmond, a career Marlin who debuted with the club in 1998, will provide Lou Pinella some versatility with his ability to play first and third base as well as catcher. Seeing little time with Ramon Castro emerging as the Marlins backstop, Redmond is batting .333 with two homeruns and 7 RBIs in 52 at bats.
"We felt with did the best we could here," LaMar said. "Greg [Colbrunn] wasn't happy about his playing time here and after talking with Lou, I decided we could live without his bat on the bench. Redmond is a great addition. He's a veteran who has handled young pitching in Florida and will be an asset here. He's a free agent at the end of the season, so if Toby is recovering well, then we'll be satisfied with our catching position."
The defending World series champion Marlins were in need of a short term solution at first baseman. Entering the day last in the NL East, the Marlins were employing Eric Karros and his .182 avg at first.
"We needed something, and Mike was the unfortunate victim of that need. He has been nothing but a professional through out his years with the club," Florida GM Larry Beinfest said. "We like having Conie [Jeff Conine] in left rather than first and [Hee Seop] Choi needs a bit more time before we bring him back up."
To make room for Redmond on the roster, Hall was placed on the 60 day disabled list. Hall is joing three others on the DL, SP Seth McClung (10 weeks), RP John Webb (8 weeks), and RF Josh Mailton (25 weeks).
Garrett Atkins, claimed off waiver from Colorado in April, was added to the roster to replace Colbrunn. LaMar indicated that Atkins' stay might be short, as Pinella wasn't supportive of carrying four players at first base.