As reported first by Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jason Varitek has re-signed with the Boston Red Sox for 1 yr $5MM deal with an option for 2010.
the captain will be returning for his 13th season in a Red Sox uniform
Varitek is back where belongs. Behind the plate, catching for the Boston Red Sox. I am not sure why this took so long. No team was going to sign a 36 year old catcher and on top of that give up a 1st round pick because Varitek was a Type A Free Agent. If Varitek wasn’t the captain of the Red Sox and hadn’t meant so much to the team, there is a chance Varitek could have been facing a similar situation to that of Ivan Rodriguez, which would be being forced into retirement.
The re-signing of Varitek doesn’t mean the Red Sox still won’t pursue a long-term option at catcher. One thing Theo Epstein has always tried to do when assembling the Red Sox is try to be better than ”major league” average at each position. The duo of Jason Varitek and Josh Bard are currently below major league average.
Look for the Red Sox to continue their pursuit of Miguel Montero and Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Tags: Boston Red Sox, Jason Varitek
