Quick note prior to Sunday's first pitch here at Fenway Park between the Red Sox and Orioles. Had heard whispers recently that Seattle minor league catcher Adam Moore was the new "flavor of the month" in the Sox front office. Essentially, Moore is a young catcher that Sox execs have got their eye on to potentially become the heir apparent to Jason Varitek -- a qualification that puts him on a list with other names like Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden and Miguel Montero.

'Tek is throwing out only 15.5 percent of baserunners this season -- a career-low for a catcher that's always been up above a 22 percent success rate during his career -- with a .208 batting average and 2 home runs during the long, sweltering month of July. With those second-half numbers staring the Boston front office right in the face -- and potentially lower offensive depths to come in August -- there is renewed vigor to find some young catching blood good enough to first supplement -- and eventually supplant -- the 37-year-old Sox Captain. 

Moore, meanwhile, is a 25-year-old backstpp at Triple-A Tacoma in the Seattle organization, but he's put up some pretty impressive numbers along the way including .307/.371/.543 with 22 home runs and 102 RBIs in High-A ball back in 2007, and he's hitting .291 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs in 56 games at Triple-A this season. The M's have another touted young catcher in the power-hitting Jeff Clement, so it stands to reason that Moore might just be available in the right deal.

There's certainly smoke with the Sox interest in Moore, but not a lot of fire according to a baseball source with knowledge of the situation. There haven't been any substanitive calls between the Sox and Seattle concerning Moore, which makes perfect sense given that the search for young catching is on the easy-to-reach backburner while Boston decides whether to land themselves a big fish (Roy Halladay, Victor Martinez) prior to July 31.

Expect talks around Moore -- and other young catchers -- to kick up again once the baseball season is over, and Theo Epstein and Co. can focus on building next season's squad.

 

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