SEATTLE — The Twins have been packing Eduardo Escobar's catching gear from city to city for three or four years now, just in case. But when they actually needed it on Tuesday, they discovered a problem: He hadn't tried it on.

While Chris Gimenez warmed up to pitch the eighth inning of the Twins' 12-3 loss to the Mariners, Escobar was searching for a wearable chest protector, since the straps on the one with his name on it had not been adjusted to fit him. He's a utility infielder, after all, and the need to have Escobar play behind the plate had never arisen before. So Gimenez threw to Jason Castro while Escobar wrestled with the equipment.
"He had to borrow," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We had to go through a couple of chest protectors to find one that didn't make him look a little silly."
The protector that Giminez wore through the first seven innings turned out to be closest to fitting, and Escobar finally rushed to the plate. For the first time in his baseball career — 524 major league games, 660 minor-league ones, and even 235 games in his native Venezuela — Escobar was receiving pitches.
Is he any good at it? "I don't know," the 28-year-old admitted. "But the important thing is, I'll try to do my best for the team every day."
That's the attitude that Molitor was counting on, and the reason he chose to employ a third catcher for the first time this year. With the game out of hand at 12-3 in the eighth inning, he considered letting Escobar, who was 2-for-4 as the designated hitter, pitch an inning, as he did once last season. But Molitor has had a feeling lately that the need for an emergency catcher might arise this year, and this struck him as an opportunity to prepare. And catching a non-pitcher felt like the best way to get his bearings at the position.
"There might be a day when he has to go back there and catch someone other than Chris," Molitor said. "It was just a situation there to give him a little experience."
Escobar seemed to have no problems with the nine pitches Gimenez threw, though Gimenez joked that he didn't always agree with the pitches he was calling. And he was proud to have even been asked. "I'm the third catcher on this team," he declared. "I liked the experience. I've said it before, I'll do whatever the manager asks."