TORONTO - The Red Sox had plans for catcher Ryan Hanigan to be activated for the Wednesday afternoon game here, but Mother Nature
and travel delays got in the way.
Hanigan traveled on a connection from Portland to Philadelphia late Tuesday afternoon and planned to fly from Philadelphia to Toronto Tuesday night.
But weather and travel issues conspired and his flight was cancelled. And when Hanigan attempted to take an early-morning flight Wednesday, that too got pushed back.
Hanigan finally took off, but he didn't arrive at Rogers Centre until sometime after 11 a.m, by which time the Sox had their lineup set with Sandy Leon catching Rick Porcello.
"Not wanting to force him into the lineup with a late arrival,'' said John Farrell, "he's not active today.''
Hanigan was, however, in uniform and went out to the bullpen to work with some pitchers pre-game.
The expectation is that he'll be activated Thursday, at which time the Sox will have to make a roster decision. They could, as Farrell has suggested, go with three catchers (Hanigan, Leon and Blake Swihart) for a short period.
Or the Sox could option Swihart back to Pawtucket. If they try to do the same with Leon, who is out of options, he would first
have to be exposed to waivers.
The Sox were hopeful that Leon could have the same kind of effect on Porcello that he's had on Buchholz.
"He's handled him a couple of times,'' said Farrel of the pairing of Leon and Porcello. "Plus, the quick turnaround from last night to today, it's kind of a natural slot to put [Leon] back in.''