| 30 January 2009
My inside source at NESN says the Sox have officially signed Varitek... details to follow
UPDATE 2:30PM - Tony Mazz - Extra Bases confirms the deal is for one year with an option.
UPDATE 2:40PM - Joe Heyman also confirms the deal, but no details yet...
UPDATE 2:45PM - From Extra Bases:
Varitek will earn $5 million in 2009, with the club holding a $5 million option for 2010. If the Red Sox do not pick up that option, Varitek has the choice of remaining with the club on a $3 million deal. In '10, he can earn another $2 million in incentives based on playing time, beginning at 80 games started.
Thus, the potential total value of the deal increases from $8 million-$10 million to $10 million-$12 million. The incentives apply to both the team and player options for 2010.
UPDATE 3:05PM - More from Tony Mazz:
The incentives apply to the player option only.
By including the incentives, the Red Sox subtly tweaked the offer previously presented to Varitek. He had the ability to select either a guaranteed one-year deal for $5 million or a one-year deal with a dual option, the latter of which contained a $5 million club option for 2010 or a $3 million player option, but without the potential to earn an additional $2 million.
Bottom Line: Many Sox fans and baseball fans thought Varitek (and/or Boras) were just being greedy, but I always thought that if Tek was just fighting for the best possible deal while the Sox were willing to take his calls - then I was fine with that.
The deal seems fair, but it's not much different from the original offer... My guess is Boras and Tek spent most of the week throwing out high numbers and this as high as the Sox would go.
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