A New Era Begins Behind the Plate
For the first time in over ten years, the Red Sox will begin the coming season with a primary catcher not named Jason Varitek.
The Sox declined Varitek’s team option for next season, and exercised their option on offensive juggernaut Victor Martinez. Varitek will likely exercise his own $3 million player option for 2010, but it is now clear that his role will be very different than it was in previous years (assuming he even makes the team, which is certainly not a guarantee after the fossilized captain hit an anemic .157/.250/.239 in the second half of last year).
Per Theo Epstein:
“We’re going to really look for Victor to be an everyday catcher for us next year…We feel like that puts us in the best position to win with Victor catching as much as he can. The other spot we’ll have available is for more of a traditional backup. We’ll see what Tek’s decision is before we move forward.”
While this move seems like a no-brainer that just makes too much sense, it’s still nice to actually see it in writing, if you know what I mean.
This move instantly improves the 2010 team in comparison to the squad we watched over the first half of last year. I’m not going to write Varitek’s eulogy yet, as there is a sizable chance he returns as the backup catcher in 2010.
This is huge. If they can get an improvement at 3rd, a SS that can catch the ball for the whole season, and even average production out of Ortiz for the whole season, this team could win over 95 games this year. Depending on the health of the pitching staff, of course.