UPDATE II: Catcher Carlin to the Friars

UPDATE II: MadFriars.com has updated their original article (link below) to note that this move will likely take place after Thursday's game.

UPDATE: It appears that news of Luke Carlin joining the Friars was not accurate, as the article has disappeared (see the first link below) and no news of this move has come from additional sources.

MadFriars.com is reporting that Luke Carlin's contract has been purchased by the Padres. This presumably means that Kevin Towers has decided to try a new tactic to prevent Josh Bard from wearing down to nothing. The prior attempt, adding Colt Morton from AA ball to the MLB roster, has been a non-factor. Manager Bud Black has sparingly used Morton while Josh Bard has struggled through the stress of catching every day. Since Michael Barrett went down with an elbow injury on April 8th, Bard has started 22 contests to Morton's 3.

Graph from FanGraphs.com

Friar fans witnessed first hand former catcher and manager Bruce Bochy's approach of giving catchers constant and regular rest. After entering the game in which Barrett was injured, Bard produced well, increasing his batting average from .278 to .324 (7 games). However, from game 8 on, he has seen a near constant decline to .216, highlighting Bochy's concern over the ware and tear of baseball's most strenuous position. FF understands that Black was likely trying to keep his best overall catcher in the game during the club's struggles, but this work load likely contributed to Bard's rough month. Hopefully, the addition of Carlin will boost Black confidence, helping the club and Bard to right themselves. Like Bard, Carlin is a switch hitter. Carlin is well regarded for his defensive skills (tossed 36% of running in 2006). While off to a solid offensive start this season, he has a .245 career minor league average. Nonetheless, this is an example of some attempt to mix things up, so FF fully supports it. We'd also rather see Morton play somewhere that will result in regular playing time.