We all know by now that Jason Varitek has until Saturday to accept the Red Sox’ 2-year contract offer, however this nugget in the Globe has me intrigued:
The Sox’ proposal contains standard award incentives (for MVP, Silver Slugger, and honors of that sort) that could increase the value of the package slightly, but there are no incentives based on the player’s health or playing time, both of which are often staples of incentive-laden contracts.
Link: Tony Massarotti
That basically eliminates the chances of Tek earning any of the $3m of incentives on top of his $5m 2009 base salary. It also will not hamper Terry Francona in his playing time decision making.
My stance has been that it’s time to cut the cord with Tek and trade for Miguel Montero, but when word of this offer broke I thought it would be enough to bring him back; however this new news has me thinking the chances of him coming back are again down to 50/50.
When Tek called John Henry for the face-to-face meeting I figured Scott Boras’ influence was now little in the negotiation process, but with the offer now roughly five days on the table, I think Tek alone would have informed the Red Sox one way or the other.
Maybe he has.