Boston radio station WEEI is reporting that the Red Sox have made their initial offer to Jason Varitek:
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the Red Sox's initial contract offer to free agent catcher Jason Varitek this offseason was for one year. It was not determined what the monetary worth of the offer would be, although indications were that it didn't approach the annual average commanded by Jorge Posada ($13.1 million). Varitek's agent, Scott Boras, referenced the Yankee catcher's contract as an appropriate point of reference when assessing his client's worth at the general managers' meetings early this month. Red Sox officials refused comment on the negotiations, while Varitek's representatives did not respond to inquiries on the matter.
Posada's contract isn't a reasonable analogue because 1) Posada was a better player when he got that deal than Varitek is now, and 2) it wasn't a reasonable contract anyway; the Yankees overpaid because, of course, they can.
Of course, so can the Red Sox. I don't mean that they can spend, say, $11 million and not notice. But if there's a debate about spending $9 million or $11 million, that debate won't last long because the $2 million difference is basically a rounding error for John Henry.
As is often the case with super-rich teams, the real question here isn't the $$ but rather the PA; the Red Sox can afford to spend an extra couple of million bucks, but they can't necessarily afford to blow another 500 plate appearances on a guy who can't hit. Or didn't, this year. I know the front office places a high value on Varitek's leadership, and I suspect the front office expects him to bounce back some next year with the bat.
If he does bounce back, he's worth $11 million (to the Red Sox). If he doesn't -- if the hitter we saw in 2008 is the hitter he actually is -- the contract will only hurt them if the money compels them to give Varitek more plate appearances than he deserves. So regardless of the dollars Varitek winds up getting, we really can't pass judgment until sometime next summer.
Rob Neyer
