According to Daniel Barbarisi of the Providence Journal, the Boston Red Sox and Jason Varitek could be working on a 2-year deal. Barbarisi also says the Red Sox don’t like to sign aging veterans, something we’ve known for a long time.
As we know, Scott Boras is trying to get his client a 4-year deal similar to what Jorge Posada received last year. We all know that the Yankees overpaid Posada so getting a long-term big money contract is probably out of the question for Varitek especially given the very light demand for his services during free agency.
What, then, is Varitek worth? By the numbers, veteran players producing at his level were generally paid between $2 million to $5 million by their teams in 2008, with the exception of the Yankees’ Rodriguez.
If Varitek’s price were to drop that low, the Red Sox would probably be happy to bring him back for at least two more years. But if Varitek and Boras stick to their initial demands, the Red Sox will probably go another way, and end up with the same production for half the cost.
Being that baseball is business, we all expect the Red Sox to make the right decision. As a fan, I do hope Varitek is back with the Red Sox because of all that he does for the team. To me, he’s invaluable to the Red Sox but I’m not John Henry or Theo Epstein. I’m merely a fan who wants the best for his team.
