Hoping to mine the best out of Salty

BALTIMORE — He walked into the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards soaking wet from head to toe, after a workout. Nobody had thrown water on Jarrod Saltalamacchia (the way Pete Carroll did with Bruce Armstrong so it would appear that Armstrong passed the conditioning test), though that’s how it looked. This was sweat. Real sweat.
“It was a little warm out there,’’ said the appropriately nicknamed Salty. “It was a pretty tough workout.’’
It was the Gary Tuck catching workout — different every day, but one that Saltalamacchia may undergo through the offseason. This is the making of a catcher, Red Sox style.
The Sox acquired Saltalamacchia at the trading deadline with an eye toward the future. Could he be the backstop-in-waiting, much as Jason Varitek was in 1997, when he was acquired along with Derek Lowe? The paths of Salty and Varitek are eerily similar.
“He’s 6-4, huge,’’ kidded Varitek when asked about the similarities. “The instruction here now compared to when I was coming up, like night and day. We never had anything like this.’’
Which is why Varitek, who had a little help from former Sox instructor Bob Geren (now the A’s manager), feels Saltalamacchia is far ahead of where he was. Varitek was 25 in 1997, and 26 when he took over the starting duties in 1998. Saltalamacchia is 25 now but was up to the big leagues at age 22 in 2007, when he hit .266 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs for Atlanta and Texas.
If the Sox aren’t able to tie up Victor Martinez, you could definitely see a Saltalamacchia-Varitek tandem next season, with Varitek mentoring. Two years ago, when there were reports of a Saltalamacchia-for-Clay Buchholz deal with the Rangers, Saltalamacchia said it would be an honor to work with Varitek. Now that he is doing that, he still feels that way.
“I doubt there’s a smarter catcher in the game,’’ Saltalamacchia said. “Just the way he studies the opponent and the opposing hitters. Just the way he gets the pitcher ready for the game.
“It’s all been an eye-opener for me. It’s everything I’d heard about, but then to see it in action, up close, and to be able to learn from it, that’s been kind of neat.’’
You’re going to see Salty catching quite a bit this month, it seems, because the Sox need to know. He has yet to really break out with the bat as many scouts feel he will, but it’s the receiving that needs work.
Varitek was not a finished product either at a similar age, but the feeling was that he wasn’t far away. Saltalamacchia has further to go with the glove, but he may have far more upside than Varitek offensively.
Is this the big audition?
“I’m here to do what I normally do, but it’s also a learning process for me,’’ said Saltalamacchia. “First time working with Tuck and first time working with Varitek. I think it’s more a learning process than it is an audition.’’
Saltalamacchia said Tuck has “great techniques. There’s a lot of stuff that’s similar because the Texas catching instructor knows Tuck pretty well, but this is different just the way it’s presented and emphasized. I’ve heard about some of the stuff before I got here, but now I’m excited to work with him.’’
Tuck isn’t Mr. Friendly, so it was not possible to get his thoughts on this subject.
“Today was mostly making some throws to second,’’ Saltalamacchia said. “Went to the bullpen and did some blocks and stuff like that, but right now he’s just trying to shorten me up behind the plate. Stay accurate and be quicker.’’
“Tuck will make you better, there’s no question about it,’’ said Varitek. “Look at Victor when he started here to what he’s doing now, throwing out runners.’’
It seemed the Rangers gave up on Salty, especially after he came up with the yips making throws back to the pitcher. He was exiled to Oklahoma City for most of the year. At one time, Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden were the bomb in baseball. The Rangers were the envy around the majors for having two such talented catchers. But the shine faded on both.
When Saltalamacchia came to Boston, he developed an unusual infection that landed him at Massachusetts General Hospital for about five days. He had to go on the disabled list but was officially reinstated yesterday as the rosters expanded.
Saltalamacchia has not given up the hope that he will be an All-Star.
“Injuries have really slowed me down,’’ he said. “Seems like I take a step forward, then two backward. It’s not your normal injuries, either. I’m definitely ready to move on. I feel like I’m in a good place right now.
“The bat has always been there. It’s just a matter of putting it together. I feel like I’ve learned a little bit more every year. I’m not where I can be, but I feel I’m going to get there.’’
If he could have hand-picked one situation for himself, this was it.
“It’s nothing but first-class here,’’ Saltalamacchia said. “I told the Rangers when I was down in the minors that I wanted to be a big league catcher and I wanted to go somewhere where that was the plan.
“With Tuck and Tek, I have no excuses. I just want to be a sponge and soak in everything they have to say. You couldn’t ask for a better situation than this.’’
That’s what Varitek thought 13 years ago, too.
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.