SI.com's Jon Heyman today in his column:

"Why Varitek and others declined arbitration"

A lot has been made about Jason Varitek and some other free agents not accepting arbitration, and it has even been suggested in a few places that Varitek and the others, including Orlando Cabrera, Jon Garland and maybe even Ben Sheets, made a mistake by declining arbitration. But that suggestion may not be right.

In Varitek's case an arbitration award could have meant about $11 million, as he made $10.4 million last year.

However, going to arbitration and having a fully guaranteed contract are two different things. To that point the Red Sox had declined to guarantee any offers to Varitek (arbitration deals are not fully guaranteed) and were hinting that Varitek's playing time might be diminished, so Varitek ultimately worried that the Sox only offered arbitration to keep the dialogue going and that ultimately they might release him after going to arbitration with him.

Had the Red Sox taken him to arbitration, in reality they were only guaranteeing a little more than $1.5 million (a team that releases a player after arbitration but before the season only has to pay one-sixth of the salary). This is a fairly rare occurrence but it has happened in the case of Todd Walker and several other players.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_heyman/01/22/scoop.freeagents/?eref=sircrc

Interesting. I'd thought that arbitration was binding and the resultant one-year contract guaranteed until now.

There's a lot of cat-and-mouse going on behind the scenes. I've posted before that I've assumed from the start that Theo offered arb to get a draft pick if he declined and signed elsewhere (though that scenario doesn't seem to be working out!) but could have lived with a 10m-ish contract for a year.

I still think that was a likely scenario and find it hard to imagine Theo cancelling 'Tek's arb deal in such a scenario.

I still think that was a likely scenario and find it hard to imagine Theo cancelling 'Tek's arb deal in such a scenario.

While the article is true, I agree with you. first, Theo has to be willing to eat close to $2M for nothing, while annoying a fair amount of the fanbase. Even those that want a new catcher generally appreciate Tek's contributions (okay, with the exception of the usual suspects). Secondly, they still have to land a catcher to replace Tek if they cut him. And third, I'm still not sure how this helps Tek. By accepting arbitration, he has an upside of $10M, a dowside of $1.7M with an opportunity to catch on with another team. Declining arb almost surely was a mistake.

I think you guys are right. As shrewd as Theo can be, I can't picture him doing that.

Varitek messed up.

Here is a thought, Varitek being a Boras client for 16 years and Boras notorious for declining arbitration. Maybe the Red Sox offered him arbitration knowing he would turn it down. When they offered it to him it was before anyone realized how poor the market this year.

I'll tell you again what is actually going on.

Red Sox nation including the media put Jason Varitek on a pedestal. To the point where EVEN JASON BELIEVED the propaganda. Jason, the fans, and the media NEVER thought Jason would be in this position, because they all believed their own homer crap. The rest of the world seen a guy who liiked like a boy among men at the plate. The rest of the world saw 21 straight successful steals in the playoffs before he finally threw out a CATCHER on a BLOWN hit and run.

He can throw, he can't hit, yet he believed he could make more that 12 million per season. WHY, because he just like YOU,....BELIEVED THE CRAP THE MEDIA IN BOSTON DISHES OUT!!!

While the article is true, I agree with you. first, Theo has to be willing to eat close to $2M for nothing, while annoying a fair amount of the fanbase.


I don't really think annoying the Fan Base is a big concern to the Sox FO and if it was, there are ways of dealing with that !! As Stan Lee would say "Nuff Said" !!


GO SOX !! AMERICA'S TEAM OF THE NEW MILLENIUM !!

The whole column is a just an excuse for the illfated power play hatched by Boras and Varitek. While I have no doubt that the duplicitous Boras would take advantage of that situation, I don't think that the Sox would offer arbitration and then negotiate in bad faith.

Varitek is meeting with lawyers this week to finalize his divorce. Do you think that he and the sox have actually already agreed on some sort of a deal but are going to wait another week to announce it once his divorce is final? If he signs a contract while he is still married, she will be entitled to some of it.

[Quote]Here is a thought, Varitek being a Boras client for 16 years and Boras notorious for declining arbitration. Maybe the Red Sox offered him arbitration knowing he would turn it down. When they offered it to him it was before anyone realized how poor the market this year.

I'll tell you again what is actually going on.

Red Sox nation including the media put Jason Varitek on a pedestal. To the point where EVEN JASON BELIEVED the propaganda. Jason, the fans, and the media NEVER thought Jason would be in this position, because they all believed their own homer crap. The rest of the world seen a guy who liiked like a boy among men at the plate. The rest of the world saw 21 straight successful steals in the playoffs before he finally threw out a CATCHER on a BLOWN hit and run.

He can throw, he can't hit, yet he believed he could make more that 12 million per season. WHY, because he just like YOU,....BELIEVED THE CRAP THE MEDIA IN BOSTON DISHES OUT!!![/Quote]

Someone should interview Heidi for the inside scoop.

I can't believe this is all about money, unless Tek needs it for the divorce settlement- alimony, child care, etc. (if he has children).

Here is the last part of the article from the second page (which I failed to post earlier):

"Even so, it's still a mystery to many why Varitek didn't take arbitration. And even Red Sox owner John Henry asked Varitek in their well-publicized meeting a week ago why he didn't take the arbitration offer. The reason is that Varitek didn't believe that accepting arbitration would guarantee him a spot on the team.

"In any case, it's believed that the Red Sox will finally make a guaranteed offer to Varitek sometime soon."

_

Now for those that don't see Theo doing something like this, you are also the same people who say "it's a business!".

And to that point, I am quite sure had they landed Teixiera, they wouldn't have thought twice about trading Lowell after he opted to take a "home town discount" to return to the Sox just last year! If they would do that, they would certainly have no qualms about letting Varitek go under an non-guaranteed arbitration deal!