The Sox have not commented on roster moves (they obviously won't do so until everyone reports). However, I think there's zero chance Kotchman will be sent to AAA. We're hearing the reason they made that deal is that they felt that LaRoche was redundant with the acquisition of Martinez, and that LaRoche's skill set (Theo mentioned his timing mechanism in his swing in an interview on WEEI.com) required at least semi-regular playing time. Kotchman brings a different skill set - better fielding, better hitting for average at the expense of less power. He was acquired for the MLB roster.

The one issue, however, is how often they plan to DH Martinez. With Martinez DH'ing and no Kottaras, Varitek getting hurt in a game would mean either an emergency catcher would have to be used or the pitcher would have to hit. Personally, I think they'll go ahead and take this chance knowing that both Brown and Wagner are a call away.

It was a nice run for Kottaras and I think they'll get something for him. I don't think he'll clear waivers. I just don't think he's clearly better than either Brown or Wagner, so he's expendable.