Red Sox's Hanigan suffers fractured knuckle; top-prospect Swihart to be called up

The Boston Red Sox catching depth continues to be challenged. 

Ryan Hanigan departed Friday's game after taking a ball off his right hand and has been diagnosed with a displaced fracture that will require surgery. 

Manager John Farrell told reporters following their 3-2 loss to the New York Yankees that Hanigan will miss a substantial amount of time. 

"With Ryan leading the pitching staff, things were starting to gain some traction," Farrell said. "He's put up a lot of competitive at-bats, including a couple here tonight. We'll miss his presence behind the plate, but we as a group have to be resilient in times like this and look to fortify the position."

Red Sox reliever Tommy Layne nailed Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira on the wrist with a pitch that deflected and caught Hanigan across the fingers. 

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Hanigan had taken over the starting duties behind the plate for the Red Sox this season after Christian Vazquez suffered an elbow injury during spring training that resulted in Tommy John surgery. 

The 34-year-old entered Friday's game hitting .216/.355/.294 with one home run and five RBIs while throwing out 23 percent of base stealers. 

Hanigan's replacement appears to be top-prospect Blake Swihart, as several reports indicated the 23-year-old switch-hitter will be called up Saturday. 

Swihart has destroyed Triple-A pitching this season, hitting .338/.392/.382 with three doubles and 11 RBIs in 18 games. 

The Red Sox also have Sandy Leon as their backup.