Flaherty reaches agreement

Johnny Damon will be introduced as a Yankee this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The Sox, meanwhile, will announce as soon as today the signing of a member of the 2005 Yankees, though it can't be considered a reciprocal heist, since New York had no interest in retaining this player.

Catcher John Flaherty, according to a Red Sox official, has reached an agreement on a non-guaranteed one-year major league contract. The Associated Press is reporting the deal is worth $650,000 with a $100,000 bonus if he makes the Opening Day roster.

The 38-year-old received some acclaim last season for helping steady Randy Johnson, who pitched far better after manager Joe Torre assigned Flaherty to catch Johnson midway through last season. Johnson, according to an analysis of his starts by the New York Post, was 12-2 with a 3.30 ERA with Flaherty catching him, and 5-6 with a 4.55 ERA with Jorge Posada behind the plate.

Thus, Flaherty will come to Boston with a few company secrets and a reputation as a capable receiver but with next to no expectations offensively. He hit .165 last season with 2 homers and 11 RBIs in 127 at-bats and will compete with Kelly Shoppach and Ken Huckaby (who was invited to spring training) to back up Jason Varitek.

Despite Flaherty's successful pairing with Johnson, the Yankees signed 35-year-old Kelly Stinnett as Posada's backup at the end of November, reuniting Stinnett with Johnson; the two were teammates in Arizona in 1999 and 2000.

Flaherty, a 25th-round pick of the Sox in 1988, appeared in 48 games in 1992 and 1993 with the Sox before beginning a meandering career that brought him to Detroit, San Diego, Tampa Bay, and New York.

Luxury has its price

Amid fan e-mails and phone calls decrying Damon's defection to New York, the Red Sox received another piece of unsettling correspondence this week: a luxury tax bill for nearly $4.2 million, according to the Associated Press.

The Sox and Yankees are the only teams that violated the 2005 competitive-balance-tax threshold of $128 million. The Sox spent $141.9 million and the Yankees $213.1 million, figures based on the average annual value of contracts on the team's 40-man roster, benefits included. Those figures are not the same as the numbers commonly cited as a team's payroll, which does not include benefits and uses the value of each player's contract in that year rather than the average annual value.

The Yankees, as third-time offenders, were taxed 40 cents for every dollar spent in excess of $128 million. The Yankees' current tax bill is $34 million, a year after they were taxed $26 million. Their bill was a modest $3.1 million following 2003, the initial year of the tax.

The Sox, following their World Series win a year ago, paid $3.1 million in luxury-tax money. This year, as second-time violators, they were taxed 30 cents on each dollar spent above the threshold.

The luxury-tax threshold escalates to $136.5 million in 2006, but because of a caveat in the collective bargaining agreement, only the Yankees and Sox are eligible to be taxed next season (both at 40 percent). The Mets ($119.2 million), Angels ($115.9 million), and Mariners ($111.9 million) followed the Yankees and Sox as the top spenders last season.

The average salary in 2005, according to the AP, which cited a survey conducted by the players' union, rose 7.2 percent to $2.48 million. For the seventh consecutive year, the Yankees had the highest average salary, at approximately $7.4 million.

Climbing the ranks

The last several years Baseball America's annual ranking of farm systems has reinforced what had been evident: The Red Sox haven't had much minor league talent within striking distance of the big leagues. The Sox, entering the last six seasons, have ranked 21st, 24th, 28th, 27th, 23d, and, most recently, 21st. However, with considerable talent now reaching Double A and Triple A, the Sox are expected to make a sizable leap to between sixth and 10th on Baseball America's soon-to-be-completed list, said John Manuel, the publication's editor in chief. Had the Sox not dealt four prospects -- including two of their top four -- to Florida in the Josh Beckett deal, the club's farm system probably would have ranked among the top five, Manuel said. He also said it's important to realize the Sox didn't develop a top-tier farm system overnight. It's taken a few seasons for the new ownership and management to build a system and for its prospects to climb the ladder . . . The Red Sox will host an exhibition game against Australia's World Baseball Classic team March 5 at 6:05 p.m. at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla. Tickets go on sale beginning today by phone (617-482-4SOX) or www.redsox.com.