Red Sox Avoid Arbitration with Saltalamacchia
Well the first transaction of the Red Sox offseason is complete. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, owner of the longest name in Red Sox history (beating Fritz Ostermueller) has avoided arbitration by signing a split deal with $750,000 for major league and $250,000 for minor league service. This goes a short distance towards clearing up the catching situation. We know Salty will be in the mix, but will he be the starter, backup, or in the minors? We still don't know what will become of Jason Varitek and Victor Martinez.
I am a huge fan of Jason Varitek and have been since he was acquired. He is quite simply my all-time favorite player. Seeing him play with another team would be heart-breaking. That being said, I recognize that he is not the player he once was. Victor Martinez was a good offensive catcher, but not a good defensive one. I could live with him signing elsewhere, but I would prefer the team re-sign him and rotate him between first base, designated hitter, and catcher, and also re-sign Varitek to be the backup catcher for one more year and bring Saltalamacchia along slowly. Salty has not proven he is ready for a full-time position yet. Let's wait and see.
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