they rarely end up costing us this much. Unless, of course, you're the Wilpon family (owners of the New York Mets), who, according to some estimates, may have lost up to $700 million (!!!) in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, errr, investment program.
But one free agent who really goofed this year was Jason Varitek. The Red Sox captain became a free agent at the end of last season. He hasn't received much interest in the open market, though. When the Red Sox offered Varitek arbitration, he probably would have received a one year deal in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars. Not bad, huh? But Varitek and his agent Scott Boras (the devil, satan, Lucifer, whatever) declined thinking that they could get a multi year deal on the market.Big mistake.
Trouble is, there aren't a lot of teams looking for a 36 year old catcher who only hit .220 last year. Boras thought that Varitek would command Jorge Posasda money (4 years/$52 million). Of course, after Posasda signed that deal, he completely broke down and spent most of last year on the DL. Boras is now claiming that Varitek's true value lies in his defense, leadership, and ability to call a game--helping out the pitchers. And that's true, that is his value now. Just don't expect teams to pay $13 million a year for defense and leadership.
Another problem for Varitek is the fact that there is really only one team looking for a starting catcher, the Boston Red Sox. So Varitek has no leverage. With roughly a month before spring training starts, there aren't going to be other teams bidding for Varitek's services. Another problem for Varitek is that the Red Sox are actively trying to work a trade for Arizona Diamondback's catcher Miguel Montero--who comes a lot cheaper than Jason Varitek.
In the end, I suspect that the Red Sox will offer Varitek a 2 year deal for around $ 6 million per year. I hope they do, and I hope Varitek accepts it. I've always been a fan of the captain and admire his grit, hustle, and the leadership that he brings to the ball club. I also hope that the Red Sox are able to make a deal for a young catcher who will be ready to take over in a couple of years. But there is no doubt, Jason Varitek made a costly mistake by refusing the Red Sox's arbitration offer.
If you want to laugh at some rich people who lost a LOT of jack check out the link:
*disclaimer: one of the reasons I made this post was, not only that I'm a huge Red Sox fan, or that it's Hot Stove season in baseball, but so that I could add to my blog the COOLEST picture EVER!!
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