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Mets Acquire Kelly Shoppach From Red Sox For Player To Be Named

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Catcher Kelly Shoppach has been acquired by the New York Mets from the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named following a waiver claim.

The 32-year-old is hitting .250 with five homers, 12 doubles and 17 RBIs in 48 games this year.

Josh Thole, hitting .260 with one home run and 18 RBIs, was benched twice during the weekend series against Atlanta in favor of Rob Johnson. Johnson hasn't exactly been an offensive force for New York this season, batting .250 with no homers and four RBIs in 52 at-bats.

Mike Nickeas, the backup catcher for a good chunk of the season, struggled the most of the team's catchers during his tenure with the big league club. In 42 games, Nickeas batted just .168 with a home run and 13 RBIs.

Shoppach has a lifetime .227 average with 64 home runs and 197 RBIs since making his Major League debut with the Red Sox in 2005. After playing just nine games for Boston in 2005, the six-foot-0, 220-pounder spent four seasons in Cleveland and two seasons in Tampa Bay before returning to Boston in 2012.

The Baylor alum had a breakout season for the Indians in 2008, batting .261 with 21 home runs and 55 RBIs in just 112 games played. 2008 remains the only season in which he's played in at least 100 games. The backstop regressed in the years after that, however, batting under .200 in both 2010 and 2011.

Shoppach will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Obviously the catcher position is an issue right now for the Mets, but was this the right move? Share your thoughts and comments in the section below...

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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