BOSTON -- Red Sox catcher Dan Butler spent the past three and a half seasons grinding in the minor leagues and waiting for a second opportunity to play in the majors.

He makes a "decent salary" in the minors but "obviously not a ton of money," he said. He gives hitting lessons and catching lessons during the offseason. He also coaches an 18-and-under club team during the winter. He loves doing it, but it also helps pay the bills.

"It's just enough to buy groceries so I don't have to actually dip into my account at all," Butler told MassLive.com. "It's not enough to live off of. It's just enough to get me through the offseason."

He has to work during the offseason.

"Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah. Otherwise I'll be paying my credit card off (from) the whole offseason during the whole season," Butler said. "So I've got to save as much money during the season so I can live off of that during the offseason (too)."

Butler -- who appeared in seven games for Boston in 2014 and took 19 at-bats (hit three doubles) -- finally is back in the majors. The Red Sox promoted him Friday after placing Blake Swihart (hamstring) on the 10-day disabled list.

People have suggested he retire and become a coach. But he kept playing and hoping for this second chance with Boston.

His current stint might be brief. Swihart's DL stint is expected to last only the required 10 days. But Butler certainly could be a September call-up now that he's on the 40-man roster.

"Everybody keeps talking about me coaching," Butler said. "I still enjoy playing. I've still got that competitive feeling of winning. And I enjoy playing still. Obviously I've been trying to get back here. So I got that taste in 2014. So I always felt like I want to just get back there. So that's what's really kept me going: trying to get here and getting my other opportunity in the big leagues."

He always felt he would be back in the majors someday.

"I've always had confidence," Butler said. "Obviously the longer you get away from it, the further it seems. But that's what kind of drives me at the same time. I've always felt like I could play at the big leagues, and I would be successful in the big leagues."

Butler signed with the Red Sox as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Arizona. So he never received a lucrative signing bonus.

He lives in Gilbert, Ariz., during the offseason. The 18-and-under team he coaches plays out of Queen Creek.

He said the paychecks he receives from coaching and hitting/catching lessons are "very minimal," but they're enough.

"It's one of my buddy's teams," Butler said. "He's got one of those programs that goes from (age) 12 all the way to 18. And he's also a high school baseball coach. So I just hang out with the high school baseball kids and go to their practices every Saturday morning. We've got lessons during the week and we've got games on the weekends."

He certainly enjoys himself.

"It gets me out of the house and keeps me learning, too, because those kids teach you stuff," Butler said. "It makes you relate to that stuff again. Simple adjustments that you might forget that you used to have to make. It just refreshes your memory a little, especially mine. And it's fun. The kids are hilarious, man. I love hanging out with them. I'd hang out with them (outside) but they're 17, 18 years old. A couple of them are really funny. We have a great time in the dugout."

Butler got married in November to Felice (Lowery) Butler. Felice played softball at Roanoke College in Salem, Va. She was a catcher, too.

They met when Butler played for High-A Salem.

"Long distance dating for a long time," Butler said.

They married in Roanoke.

Butler, who turns 32 on Friday, is known for his strong defense and helping the development of the young pitchers at Pawtucket.

"I think that's the job of every catcher is to kinda mentor the pitchers or talk with them," Butler said. "It's just them asking me questions about their stuff and then I give them my opinion. And they take it for what it's worth to them. And I don't think I'm trying to teach them. I'm just another voice."

Butler is interested in being a member of a coaching staff for an affiliated minor league team when he retires.

He admires how long catching instructor Chad Epperson and pitching coach Dana LeVangie have worked for the Red Sox organization.

LeVangie, for instance, has remained with the the Red Sox since they drafted him in 1991. After retiring from playing, he worked his way from bullpen catcher to pitching coach.

"I think that's a really cool thing," he said. "It's something that's intrigued me."

Maybe Butler will follow in a similar path as LeVangie and Epperson and coach in the Red Sox system someday. He has spent his entire professional career except for the 2015 season with this organization.

"One year. I got traded over there (to Washington). I didn't have a choice," Butler said, laughing.

But he returned. He has re-signed with Boston as a minor league free agent each of the past three winters.

"It's a really cool connection I've made with the staff and the players," Butler said. "It's like a home away from home."