Dodgers Acquire Ryan Lavarnway, Designate Butera

Here’s some interesting news. The Dodger brain trust also known as the front office has acquired catcher Ryan Lavarnway off of waivers from the Red Sox. In a corresponding move, they have designated catcher Drew Butera for assignment.

The 27-year old backstop was a former top prospect who was recently put on waivers. He was drafted by Boston in the sixth round of the 2008 amateur draft. Lavarnway made his MLB debut for the Red Sox in 2011, and has four years of MLB service time. In that time he has struggled with the bat. He played in just nine games for the Red Sox in 2014, spending most of his season at triple-A Pawtucket.

In 62 games for Pawtucket, Lavarnway batted .283 with three home runs, and 20 Runs batted in, with a .759 OPS in 257 plate appearances.

Lavarnway is a career .283 minor league hitter with 92 home runs, and an .853 OPS. The young catcher once hit 32 home runs at the minor league level. Unfortunately he has yet to see that develop into big league success at the plate.

Lavarnway is a career .201 hitter in the majors, with five career home runs, and a .565 OPS in four his four MLB seasons. The right handed hitter is a Southern California native. He is originally from Burbank, and went to El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills.

As for Butera the move does not come as a surprise. Despite catching Josh Beckett’s no-hitter and providing decent defense behind the plate, the 31-year old catcher was an awful hitter. Butera batted just .188 for the Dodgers in 2014 with three home runs in 192 plate appearances. Butera is a career .183 hitter in five major league seasons as a catcher.

The new Dodger front office is making upgrading the catcher position a priority this hot stove season. The Dodger catchers ranked at the bottom, or near the bottom of the league in all offensive categories last season.