Sox strike deal with Varitek, still seek young catcher
From the pursuit of Mark Teixeira to the retention of Jason Varitek, the Red Sox offseason effectively drew to a close today. The team's roster is all but set, the relationship with its captain ultimately preserved.
According to a source familiar with the negotiations, Varitek can earn those incentives only if he (and not the team) exercises the 2010 option, leaving the maximum value of the deal at $10 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Varitek would earn $400,000 at each plateau for starting 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 games in 2010.
Those incentives, said multiple sources familiar with the negotiations, ensure Varitek that he will be paid a salary more commensurate with a starting player should the Sox still need him to fill that role beyond 2009.
The Sox did not formally announce the deal because the agreement is contingent upon Varitek passing a physical exam next week.
According to a team source, Varitek and general manager Theo Epstein spoke directly via telephone late Thursday night to help bridge the gap between the player and team. Sox officials then finalized the deal with agent Scott Boras this morning and early afternoon, just beyond an 8:30 a.m. deadline the team had established before Varitek and Epstein spoke.
That deadline, according to a source in the Varitek camp, was established by the club in a letter sent via registered mail dated Jan. 22. According to the same source, copies of the letter were delivered to both Varitek and Boras at 8:30 a.m. last Friday, Jan. 23, specifying that Varitek had "one week" to accept or decline the team's offer.
Varitek's discussion with Epstein was the second 1-on-1 conversation the player had with a team official in the last two weeks. On Friday, Jan. 16, Varitek had a 90-minute, face-to-face meeting with owner John Henry near the player's Atlanta-area home, a session Varitek requested with the hope of re-opening dialogue between the club and Boras.
Just prior to that, already-tense relations between the Red Sox and Boras had become additionally strained in the wake of Teixeira negotiations, a pursuit that left some Sox officials, most notably Henry, feeling cheated. On the day Teixeira's eight-year, $180 million agreement with the New York Yankees was formally announced, Henry sent an email to the Associated Press in which he stated that the Sox always expected the Yankees to get "last call" because "that's what you deal with in working with Scott."
By that stage, Varitek and Boras had long since rejected the club's offer for salary arbitration, a decision that still might have cost the player millions. While an arbitration award might have resulted in non-guaranteed earnings for the player, most believe Varitek would have ended up with a 2009 salary in the range of $10 million -- a number equal to his 2008 earnings in base salary and pro-rated bonus money -- had he accepted the arbitration offer.
Instead, Varitek's maximum salary rests at $10 million for the next two seasons combined, though he can earn slightly more in standard award bonuses (like Most Valuable Player, etc.) that are part of most contracts.
With Varitek secured, the Sox now have much-needed experience in a catching corps that includes Josh Bard, George Kottaras, Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner. Bard, who was signed earlier this offseason at a non-guaranteed salary of $1.7 million, is the most likely candidate to serve as Varitek's backup, though that likely will be determined after pitchers and catcher report to Fort Myers on Feb. 12 for the start of spring training.
In the longer term, the Varitek signing now gives the Sox valuable time to continue their search for a long-term replacement, something the club still hopes to accomplish through trade. According to a baseball source, the Sox still could make a deal for a young, developing catcher before the start of the season, though Varitek's presence now gives them the luxury of extending that search into midyear (just before or at the annual July 31 trading deadline) and even beyond the 2009 season.
To this point, the Sox' most serious discussions for a catcher have taken place with the Texas Rangers (for Jarrod Saltalamacchia) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (for Miguel Montero), but the Sox found the asking price of both teams to be too great. All of that made it more critical for the club to lock up Varitek, highly regarded by pitchers, coaches and managers, and who has been with the Sox since joining them via trade in July 1997.
Now, with Varitek all but certain to end his career with the Red Sox, the team can more freely go about finding his replacement without as much urgency.
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Oh Boy - let the second guessing begin!!!!!
finally
Damn it.
booooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Jason should be thankful! Hopefully he will get his batting average up to .250 this year, thats worth 5 million bucks.
If that's true then the Sox just blew $8 million. Stupid. JV will be the 2009 Red Sox version of Mark Bellhorn.
Good
All I have to say about this is...
WHY GOD WHY?????
Yippee! This is the best picture I have seen of Amalie. Maybe it the group arouond her.
well, it's about frickin' time!!! :)
THANK YOU REDSOX... WELCOME BACK JASON!!!
It's about time.
It's a win/win for both sides. Great to have the captain back!
Are we supposed to be pleased? I think Varitek has done considerable damage to his reputation in this city with this ridiculous charade.
They weren't willing to give up Buckholz and another prospect.
about time! I've been waiting all day for this update. Ithink I wore out my refresh button.
Everyone knew Tek couldn't retire, he lost half of his money to his soon to be ex-wife after cheating on her with the RedSox TV host.
I'm glad the Sox stuck with the 2 year deal and didn't give in to Boras.
Varitek must be pretty embarrassed after this ordeal.
GREAT NEWS!
Halle-freakin'-lujah.
Good for him, Good for the club! He ought to tell Boras to go sign up for unemployment!
about g-d time
Bad move. They should have moved on.
The Captain has returned - all is well in RSN.
Happy Friday!
Are the Sox going to have to buy the casket, too, or will he bring along his own?
About time. Message to Scott Boras from red sox nation: Shove it!
About time! Tek should of fired Boras that greedy snake! Thank god we can stop hearing all of these Varitek talks. Now bring in a young catcher and let the tutoring begin!!! Also enough of offseason talks and bring on Spring Training!
It's about time!! Now let's go get Salty...
About time... they should still go out and trade for a young catcher. Maybe now that they have less immediate need, it will bring the price down on one of their targets.
Tek, what took you so long. I am glad you are back. Have a good year and help outour pitching staff as only you can do, Beat the damn Yankees. Go Sox. Play Ball.
Good job Tek. I was starting to worry about you. I don't think our pitching staff would be the same w/o you! Go Sox!
My biggest concern is that when it Francona finally removes Tek from his #1 catcher slot, he would have cost us 3 games, which could well be enough to miss the playoffs in the hyper competitive AL East. It seemed so hard for Francona to pinch hit for him.. can you imagine what torture we will go through before he sits the Captain?
Perfect! With a quickly declining Papi and mediocre/coming off an injury/35 year- old 3rd baseman, all the pieces are in place for a 3rd place finish!
Very cool.
Good to have the big galumpf bck in the fold.
Well done Theo! You da man!
welcome back
like I'm shocked....How else is he going to pay his alimony...plus support his new squeeze. What time is the parade for a .220 hitter..? Imagine what Ted Williams would get today.....sad
Well it's about time....I just hope there are no hard feelings in all of this. The Red Sox now have to move forward, and forget all of the nastiness that has taken place, and realize it's just business. Jason Varitek, needs to do the same thing, and not harbor any hard feelings, he too needs to realize this was business, and not personal.
That a way to go Tek ... freakin excellent! Now lets get Salty and have Tek teach the kid the ropes. Welcome back Jason !!!!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So it looks like Tek MAY get exactly what he would have received if he just accepted arbitration months ago. Of course, it'll take him 2 years to earn it.
Nice job Boras. :-)
Tek is a great teammate. Let's just hope he can still get a few hits.
It's about time! 5 million bucks isn't enough?! We are in a recession but bread doesn't cost that much! Welcome back to the Nation. Please coach Josh Bard this Spring so he doesn't fall on his face like he did last time around! Welcome home.
Good, we need a great catcher like Jason.
He feared the wrath of Red Sox Nation.
finally. generous too. this will help dice k more than anyone,
What a deal! No way we could find a .220 hitting catcher out there for less!
Meanwhile, he thanks Boras for costing him several million.
I though we had a chance to get ride of him... Oh well, 5 millions is not that bad if we trade for a young promising catcher who will be coached by Tek...
I'm glad they got it done. Now trade/sign for a younger catcher who can be tutored by Varitek.
Hooray!
I'm glad, but I hope that the nastiness of the off-season does not harm relationships.
Now here this! If you want to known as a team kind of guy, do not hire Boras. That's the negotiating equivelant of putting on boxing gloves. The Sox proved that they too, can play the game. Sadly, it cost Jason a lot of money. I'm sure Jason will man-up. He's the one that 'picked the fight'.
thank god, we need him this year, but we need to grow some young guy to take his spot. Tek is running outa time behind the plate
IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woo Hoo!
Great to hear.. if we he wasn't signed everyone would see how important he is behind the dish calling games. He's needed to help out the staff, whether he's hitting .220 or not... bargain.
i respect him to death but i hope his offense improves to the point he is not a liability, because his ability to call a game is overrated. Just check pitchers stats with varitek and without. Eerily similar,should'nt there be a significant difference?
TOLD YOU SO!
bad news for the sox. this was a mistake- tek is old and washed up. i just hope he can hit better than .220 this season. funny that the sox offered so much given tek had no other options!
oh well - at least we'll have 2 more years of those legendary "game-calling" skills - from a player who is a mere shadow of his former self - both at the plate and behind it.
Wow...the Sox stuck their guns....Tek gets 5 mil and we still pay 25 dollars for a hotdog The savings that Boras earned for the sox with his fantastic advise (sorry Tek) should go straight to the bottom line for the paying customers. Drop the price of dogs and beer by 2 cents each!! Now fans only have to pay $18.98 for a hotdog and small beer.
Finally!!!! Way to be smaht about it Tek....eff Boris and his greedy tatics. Suit up Tek and lets bring home another no hitter and a ring!
Good stuff. Nice to see 'Tek back in the fold.
Here's to hoping that he has a monster year and that he and the Sox re-negotiate a multi-year agreement at the end of 2k9.
I know the comments have been mixed, but I couldn't be happier about Tek resigning with the Sox. I also can understand his unhappiness about signing a deal worth half what he made last year, but with his #s and the economy and his agent, it was the best he could expect.
I am so thrilled to know...he'll be at Spring Training and behind the plate on opening day. Welcome back Captain!
yea! are problems are solved. wish they didnt
Glad he will be back - we still need to find our catcher for the future though. All in all, a good winter for the Sox.
About time! Now how about Dunn?
Though I know the we're instructed to believe that Business' business is to set sentiment aside, I feel this signing, for better or for worse, is an act of loyalty and sentimentality.
NO! The total value remains at a potential of $10 milion!
Hoooooray! Now we need to go out and get a grood young catcher that Tek can mentor. A happy day ofr Sox fans!
With Veritek, Boston has one of the greatest on field coaches of all time. Boston will make one of their frequent mistakes if they let him go in the next three or four years but we fans are accustom to management gaffs.
Great to have you back Captain.
Jon Heyman at SI had this earlier. We still need a long term solution...view these as the "mentoring" years for Jason.
finally ... lets play ball shall we : )
Potential value is $8million-$12 million. If the sox don't exercise option and Tek does he'll get 3 million. If he doesn't reach the incentives, value is 8 million (5 this year, 3 next).
Without a decent hitting catcher, and Ortiz fading away, forget about the playoffs this year!!
Wait... why would the minimum value be 10mm now? 5mm for '09 plus 3mm for '10 (with no incentives achieved) is still 8mm.
A nice charity deal. Will he appreciate it or be a cancer?
nice job Boras! that sure beats the $10M for 1 year that he would have made via arbitration.
Real glad that this is finally done. Good deal for both sides. Now let's play ball and win another World Series. One last thing Jason, fire Boras! This is his fault!
IM glad the Sox signed Jason, but they still need to pick up a good young catcher so he can groom him. If they have high expectations for somebody in there minor leagur system, bring them up for the entire season. Let them get there feet wet in every sapect of a big league team. Fron being around the guys everyday to catching 30 to 40 games.
Yes!
Great..with alot of new pitchers and young guys, we need a good receiver. Also, I think he will hit better, not 300 but better than last year! I'm very happy.
Yeah. Overprice, underpowered, good guy. Nice guys don't always finish last I guess
Congrats, JV. See you at the bullpen
Yankee fans gotta love this signing by the Sox.
my thoughts...he had no choice.
hooray!
Our long national nightmare is over. (Or, it's just begun.)
Who cares?
Glad it is done and over with. I think Varitek makes up for his hitting by what he does with the pitching staff and hopefully the Sox can get a young guy in there for him to mentor because realistically he has one or two years left.
Smart move, if they are going to bring in a new catcher, they need to have him on hand to train him. These pitchers trust him alot and do pitch better when he is behind the plate. Even if his bat has slowed down, he does make up for it in leadership.
Our long national nightmare is over. Play ball.
to bad, i'd rather have seen him go.
I'm glad this mess is over. Varitek is a Red Sox and will always be a Red Sox and I hope that he retires in a Boston uniform.
Finally. IT'S OVER!
Light dawns on marble heads. Boras and Varitek finally wake up and realize that the world aint beating a path to their door. Nice work, men- you've managed to lose $5-6 million dollars over the last couple of months.
yessssssssssssssssssssssss i just love jason veritek
YES!!!!! Now use him appropiately to groom a younger catcher.
Welcome back, Captain!
About time. Why the drawn-out decision? Same offer that's apparently been on the table for a long time, you doofus.
FINALLY!...with a monster .198 average in the lineup the Yanks better cower in fear!
I never want to hear the adage that the Red Sox model their franchise after the Patriots ever again. That simply could not be further from the truth. Pats know when to say good-bye to players and have the the you know what's to do it. Sox insist on keeping around old players around whose best days are miles behind them (Varitek, Wakefield, Timlin, etc.). Do they honestly think that this "great game caller" is the reason for the success of Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K and that they will suddenly morph into Jeff Sellers, Matt Young, and Mark Portugal without him? Lord knows the guy can't hit anymore. He can't even make contact, let alone get a hit, and then acts like a crybaby when the manager pinch hits for him. It got so bad that Francona wouldn't pinch hit for him in Game 7 against the Rays for fear of "embarassing the captain". That selfish action may have cost the team a championship. I would much rather get rid of a guy a year too early than a year too late. Unfortunately, we will be getting rid of this guy at least three years late. Spineless front office.
It's about time. Now can get focused on some Baseball!!!
wonderful, now we can subject ourselves to some more rally killing DPs or taking strike three right down the middle this season.
can't wait to hear how boras spins this
GREAT move on Varitek's part. Now he can get ready for Spring Training and imagine what life would've been like with 5 extra million dollars in his pocket had he not listened to Boras.
But still, lets bring in Saltalamacchia
GO SOX IN 09!!
Um no, the value of the deal goes from $8-10m to $8-12m. if he exercises HIS option in 2010, and doesnt start 80 games, he still only gets $3m.
stands in box:
watches called strike one
stands in box:
swings late on inside fastball
stands in box:
strike three swinging at pitch outside and in the dirt
repeat
WOW WHAT A SHOCKER!
I couldn't be happier....I love the man!
Looks like a fair deal for both sides. Reason has finally prevailed.
the red sox did good. they needed his leadership and his presents for the pitchers the red sox picked up. farrell will be happy. go sox
YESSSSS finaaalllly
welcome back Captain!
he is the best option available for this season...in terms of the sox making a serious run at the world series title
Good. It will be good for the team and He punched A-Rod.
Word has it that Johnny Damon gave Varitek a call and asked him not to make the same mistake he did... "'Tek buddy, umm you've got sign umm, with the Sox, otherwise you will be Damonized".
The clincher was a $10 million bonus if he wins the batting title.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH
welcome back Captain!
Ok, the world can continue to spin. Things are as they SHOULD be. Now we need another RBI producing slugger somewhere in the lineup.