ST. PETERSBURG -- When your captain and catcher goes down with an injury just hours after the non-waiver trading deadline expires, it's hard to find a much better solution than a three-time All-Star who has played in countless pennant races and postseason games.

But that's exactly what Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and his staff were able to find, striking a deal with the Orioles for veteran Javy Lopez after the solid right-handed hitter cleared waivers.

The Red Sox shipped a player to be named later to the Orioles -- expected to be a mid-level prospect -- and received Lopez and a sizable sum of cash. That money will pay a good chunk of the $2.75 million that Lopez is due for the remainder of the season.

"We're really excited that we were able to find such a great solution in Javy Lopez," said assistant general manager Jed Hoyer. "This guy's got a great resume. He's a very good hitter. He's a solid defensive catcher and we're excited to have him. Like I said, losing Jason on the 31st was ... the timing was really difficult. To be able to find a great solution like Javy so quickly, we're really excited about that."

As it turns out, Lopez could not have arrived soon enough. In what was supposed to wind up being a night of meeting and greeting and getting acclimated, Lopez was thrust into emergency duty in the top of the third inning after Doug Mirabelli was forced out of the game with a twisted left ankle.

Just like that, Lopez learned what it was like to catch Curt Schilling on a night the ace helped carry the Red Sox to a 3-2 victory over Rays.

"It's heaven," Lopez said of catching Shilling. "It's so easy. He's a veteran. A situation where they have runners in scoring position and I wasn't worried about anything. I knew he was going to get away without any runs. It's a totally different feeling. I feel like when I was in Atlanta catching all those great guys."

At the bat, Lopez went 0-for-4. He was just happy to get his first day with his new team under his belt. And with Mirabelli now sidelined for the next few days, Lopez will be thrown right into the fire.

"That was lot of fun, but you know what, I'm glad this is over with," Lopez said. "Tomorrow, I'll catch [David] Wells and hopefully be a little bit more relaxed."

Because Lopez has started just 20 games behind the plate this season, Francona will carefully monitor his playing time. Mirabelli, who is a strong defender and familiar with the pitching staff, will likely split starting duty with Lopez once he returns to action.

Lopez certainly made a strong first impression.

"I'm not giving players speeches anymore," Francona said. "I called him in, gave him the 'A' speech, said, 'Welcome to the club, take the night to relax.' A half hour into it, he's the only catcher. I tell you what, he did a great job. And I know, thankfully, these guys are in our division, so he's seen them a lot. It's also not his first rodeo -- this guy has caught a lot of games."

Lopez, with a big smile on his face, joined his new team prior to Friday's game at Tropicana Field.

After acquiring Ramon Hernandez last winter, the Orioles relegated Lopez to mainly DH duty. Lopez was pining to get out of Baltimore for the last few weeks.

"Definitely, this is the opportunity that I've pretty much been looking forward to since Day 1 of this year," said Lopez. "I guess I never expected to be on a contending team like the Boston Red Sox. That makes it even better."

Lopez was the starting catcher on nine consecutive division champion teams in Atlanta (1995-2003) and was the National League Championship Series MVP in 1999.

"It's a nice pickup for us," said Mirabelli. "It's a guy who's played in some meaningful games over his career. He's been in the playoffs the first 10 years of his career or something like that. As soon as he can become familiar with your pitching staff, he'll definitely pay dividends for this team."

Varitek underwent arthroscopic surgery on Thursday to repair a cartilage tear in his left knee. He's expected to be out for a month or longer.

To make room for Lopez on the roster, the Red Sox designated Ken Huckaby for assignment. There's a decent chance that Huckaby will wind up back in Triple-A Pawtucket, where he has spent most of the season.

When Varitek returns, Lopez can give the Red Sox a dangerous bat off the bench, as rosters will be expanded to 40 at that time.

Lopez is hitting .261 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 76 games this season. He is a .288 career hitter with 260 homers and 860 RBIs. Lopez is a three-time All-Star.

Can Lopez still catch on a semi-regular basis, even though the Orioles didn't ask him to this season?

"I'm ready to catch as many games as [Francona] wants me to," Lopez said. "I'm ready for it. He knows what I've been through. He knows I haven't been playing much for the Orioles at catcher. I'm willing to catch as many games as he wants me to. I feel in pretty good shape right now. The past few starts, I've felt perfect and I think I'm back in shape."

"Every report we have indicate that his catching skills are basically what they have been, he just hasn't been behind the plate as much," Hoyer said. "So I think, yeah, they'll probably be a period where he's getting used to the rigors of catching more often. He's a solid defensive catcher and a guy that we're confident can run this pitching staff."

One thing Lopez won't try to do is duplicate the man he is replacing.

"I know for sure that filling [Varitek's] shoes is going to be hard," Lopez said. "All I try to do here is just try to the best I can to fill his spot while he's gone. Once he gets back, he'll be back to receiving here again." In the meantime, the Red Sox and Lopez will try to keep the transition as simple as possible.

"There's not going to be a big learning curve," Francona said. "If there is, it's not good for us. He's an experienced catcher. I know he hasn't caught much [this year], but he has caught for a long time. So, I think if you just reduce it to the basics ... if our guys throw it over the plate and change speeds and he catches it, we'll be OK. He's caught some pretty good pitchers in the past. But I agree, the more familiarity you have the better. We don't have that luxury right now."

But the hole vacated by Varitek suddenly doesn't seem so gaping.

"Obviously it can be difficult to make trades in August because of players trying to clear Major League waivers," Hoyer said. "In some ways, there's unknowns. When it comes to getting to August, you never know which players will be available for you. When Javy became available to us, we became excited and we certainly weren't going to miss the opportunity."