Last week in this space, the Red Sox winter to-do list was laid out. The most important was to resolve the uncertainly at catcher. Do the Sox resign free agent to be Victor Martinez, hand the bulk of the job to Jarrod Saltalamacchia with Jason Varitek (who would need to be resigned too) as his backup and mentor, or something completely different?
Most free agent long-term contracts (three 
plus years) are bad investments since they mostly cover a player’s declining years (after the age of 30) and are paid according to his twenties production. Martinez is unlikely to be an exception to the rule. But still should hit better than the league average catcher.
Based on the last three years, an average American League catcher will likely up an underwhelming slash line of 250/320/400. Even with a decline with the stick, VMart will probably be an above average offensive catcher over the next few seasons. And hence should be offered more than the two-year contract that the Red Sox put forth earlier in the week.
Assuming Yawkey Way is confident that Martinez will be a primary catcher for the next two years given their initial proposal, then he deserves a four year deal. After his improvement during the year, few should doubt Martinez’s ability to stay behind the plate at least on a part-time basis in year three of the theoretical four year contract. Even being a platoon above average bat would give the Red Sox roster flexibility. It is unlikely that the club would be handcuffed with a bad contract for more than the last year.
The time to act on Martinez is now. The Red Sox should give him a similar contract as Jorge Posada, $52.4 million over four years, and be done with number one on the to-do list or beware of the New York…Mets going five years.