BOSTON — The Red Sox made their second acquisition of the trading-deadline period on Tuesday, picking up outfielder Brian Anderson from the Chicago White for outfielder Mark Kotsay.

Anderson, 27, was optioned to Pawtucket . He hit .238 with two homers and 13 RBI in 65 games for the White Sox this season before he was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on July 20.

"He's very athletic defensively and he's very gifted. He has a University of Arizona background, which certainly helps," said manager Terry Francona, who also played baseball for Arizona. "I actually don't know him, but I'm looking forward to meeting him."

Anderson was a first-round selection (15th overall) by the White Sox in 2003. In 334 career games in the majors, he has a .225 average with 20 homers and 75 RBI.

 "He's a very high draft selection and got to the big leagues with a lot of fanfare, but it didn't work right away," said Francona. "It gives us some insurance in the outfield, especially defensively. On the flip side, Kotsay is back in the big leagues where he belongs. I hope he never beats us, but I'll be rooting for him other than that."

Kotsay was designated for assignment on July 24.

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Tim Wakefield was finally able to play catch on Tuesday afternoon.

 The veteran knuckleballer is on the disabled list with a lower back strain and was originally scheduled to play catch on Monday, but the club's medical staff thought it best to hold him back one more day for precautionary reasons.

 At approximately 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon, Wakefield played catch and later reported everything went well.

"Good," he said. "I'm still not pain-free, but it's tolerable."

Wakefield is scheduled to be activated on Aug. 2 and pitch against the Orioles in Baltimore and he believes he's on track to do so. Meanwhile, Clay Buchholz has replaced him in the rotation.

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Jason Varitek is a virtual walking freezer of ice. From head to toe, almost every part of his body is covered with ice packs. It doesn't matter if it's before the game or after the game, the Red Sox catcher and captain is encased in the cold stuff.

As a result, Francona decided to give Varitek Tuesday night off from the starting lineup.

"He's banged up. Any catcher who catches as much as Tek has to this point [in the season] is going to be," said Francona.

With Wakefield on the disabled list, Francona is trying to work backup receiver George Kottaras into the mix a little more, especially with the Sox facing two left-handers in the last two games of the series against the Athletics. (Kottaras bats left-handed and doesn't figure to play in those games.) Plus, Kottaras is very familiar with Buchholz, who started Tuesday night. Both were at Pawtucket last year.

Varitek averages 130 games per season and shows no signs — other than the ice — of slowing down.

"Hopefully we never take Tek for granted, but we take for granted that he's going to be beat up," said Francona. "Rest is not welcomed for him because he likes to play, but it's needed and hopefully we take advantage of it."

There was a time during the last offseason when it was possible Varitek might not have returned to the Sox. But he signed a one-year deal with a dual option for 2010. Entering Tuesday's game, he was hitting .233 with 13 homers and 41 RBI.

"Whatever his batting average is, that's not how we measure Tek. What he does for this team, he'll always suffer offensively," said Francona. "He's also hit some huge home runs and when he catches we feel like we're going to win. We do want to be cognizant of the fact that as he gets beat up during the year we need to at least recognize that and not run him into the ground."

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Some might look at Tuesday's lineup and wonder why the hot-hitting Adam LaRoche wasn't starting.

Since arriving in Boston via trade last week, the first baseman has gone 5-for-12 with three doubles, one homer and three RBI.

With LaRoche in the lineup, Francona moved Kevin Youkilis across the diamond to third base and Mike Lowell has been on the bench.

"I've been really pleased with the way Adam has swung the bat," said Francona. "What I don't want to do is get in the way of him hitting."

Francona wanted Lowell back in the lineup on Tuesday.

 It's possible he'll serve as the club's DH on Wednesday when David Ortiz is given the night off.

jmcdonal@projo.com