Tek Tock, Tek Tock...

Written by Rob Munstis | 27 January 2009

Here's some quick Varitek News:

From the Mike Silverman, Boston Herald:

The Red Sox have set a Saturday deadline for Jason Varitek to accept or reject a one-year offer, according to a source close to the negotiations.

The contract is reportedly worth $5 million and includes 2010 options.

The club set the Jan. 31 deadline in order to keep negotiations with its free agent captain and catcher from inching any closer to the Feb. 12 spring training reporting date in Fort Myers.

From Tony Massoratti, Boston Globe:

While a baseball source has confirmed that Jason Varitek would earn $5 million this year under terms of the Red Sox' latest offer - which includes a second-year option - the question now is whether the veteran catcher might be better served with a straight one-year deal instead.

Under the terms of a proposal made by the Sox last week, Varitek would earn $5 million this year, with the club holding a $5 million option for 2010. Should the club decline that option, Varitek then would have the option to return to the team at a salary of $3 million, placing the player's minimum guaranteed earnings over the next two seasons at $8 million, or an average of $4 million.

According to another baseball source, one of the downsides of the offer from Varitek's perspective is that it would not necessarily reward him if he has a strong 2009. On a straight one-year deal, Varitek then could re-enter the free agent market next season in hopes of securing more than $5 million, the maximum amount he could earn in 2010 under the Sox' existing offer.

I was discussing this theory with a co-worker yesterday. I wouldn't blame Tek for wanting a one-year deal at this point, because a solid 2009 would likely earn him more than $3-5M in 2010... or would it?

The lack of interest in Varitek has been connected to the draft pick teams would have to give up in order to sign him... but I wonder if teams simply didn't want to pay $6-10M for an aging catcher and/or deal with Scott Boras.

Varitek has his best year in 2005 when he hit .281 with 22 HRs, 30 doubles and 70 RBI. He's been regressing ever since. One could argue that personal issues may have been a factor in his dismal 2008 season, but the evidence shows that Tek is now a .250, 15 HR, 60 RBI who strikes out 120 times a year. I think it is also worth noting his lefty/righty splits from 2008:

versus righties - .201 with 328 at-bats
versus lefties - .284 with 95 at-bats

Bottom Line: It's unclear what kind of deal Jason Varitek would prefer, but at this point beggars can't be choosers. If I were him, I'd take as much guaranteed money as I could get... and try to ride off into the sunset as a Red Sox before my "legacy" is destroyed.