Not surprisingly, Jason Varitek exercised his $3 million player option to return to the Red Sox for one more year.

The one role I can see him being somewhat helpful in is as a backup who starts against left-handers only.  His name should never, ever be written on a lineup card against a right-handed starting pitcher. Even last year where he was terrible overall, Tek still managed to catch up with some pitches thrown by southpaws, as he hit .231/.336/.471 (108 OPS+)  in 122 plate appearances against lefties.

This would call for some additional strategy on the part of Terry Francona.  What I hope does not happen (but I fear that it might) is that Francona would have Varitek become Daisuke Matsuzaka’s personal catcher.  In order to fully utilize Varitek to the best of his abilities, this cannot happen.  The standard “start him every five games” approach would not be a good thing, as it would lead to Tek being grossly overmatched in many situations.

Say it with me, Tito: left-handers only.

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