[UPDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 backup catcher will be Jason Varitek. ‘Tek exercised his option, and I for one am pleased he did. It’ll likely keep him in Boston threads for his entire career, as well as give the club an option to make Varitek the personal catcher for Josh Beckett. $3 million is a bit steep for a backup catcher, but for Boston, it’s worth it to keep Varitek.] [One more update: Hasn’t happened yet, but… it will.]
Not a surprise: Jason Varitek’s $5 million club option for 2010 has been declined. As much as I may want ‘Tek back in a backup role for 2010, I wasn’t willing to commit $5 million to that role. Neither was Theo Epstein. The ball is in ‘Tek’s court now, and we’ll know by the end of the week whether he picks up his $3 million option.
If he doesn’t, he becomes a free agent who can negotiate with any team. Don’t rule out the Sawx offering ‘Tek arbitration, though: he’s a Type B free agent who would net the Sox a pick in the compensatory round (so no team directly loses its pick).