LaRoche, 29, played for the Braves from 2004 to ’06. He hits for more power than Kotchman and traditionally hits well in the second half. The Braves’ thinking is that he could ignite returning to familiar surroundings.

The Red Sox’s motivation in adding Kotchman is not as clear. Kotchman is an outstanding fielder, and the Red Sox’s defense would improve if he were at first and Kevin Youkilis got the majority of playing time over Mike Lowell at third.

Martinez, under that scenario, presumably would get most of his at-bats at catcher and DH.

This is the second straight year that Kotchman has been dealt at the trade deadline. Last year, the Angels sent him to Atlanta as part of the Mark Teixeira deal.

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Pittsburgh was known to be looking for a suitor for LaRoche, who is earning $7.05 million this year and can be a first-time free agent after the season. The Pirates were not expected to make a strong attempt to re-sign him.

Speculation that LaRoche was on his way out first surfaced on Wednesday morning when the Pirates did not post their lineup until less than one hour before the 12:35 p.m. ET scheduled first pitch.

Diaz, who was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2003, is hitting .253 with 24 RBIs in 76 Double-A games this season. Diaz, 22, split last season between Class A and Double-A.

Strickland, an 18th-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, is 5-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 18 appearances (12 starts) at the low Class A level. He has 51 strikeouts and 13 walks in 83 1/3 innings.

Diaz will be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis and Strickland will join Class A West Virginia.

LaRoche, mired in a July slump, has hit .247 with a team-high 12 homers and 40 RBIs this season. In Boston, he’ll be reunited with former Pittsburgh teammate Jason Bay, who was dealt there at this time last season.

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