Unfortunately, where ever he hit the lineup during the season there was a gaping hole that could not be filled. His swing gets longer and longer, and his knees are not in great shape from all of his years behind the plate.
His OPS+ in 2008 was a miserable 74, and his VORP was below one, meaning that any catcher the Red Sox threw behind the plate could have been offensively and defensively better than Varitek.
What makes matters worse for the Red Sox is that Scott Boras is his agent, so instead of working out a hometown discount to stay with the Red Sox and become a personal catcher in the mold of Eddie Perez, he will most likely test the free agent waters and force the Red Sox to pony up the dough if they want to keep him.
Which is why they can't possibly re-sign him at his market value if they want to be competitive.
The highlights of the free agent class for catchers in 2009 includes: Miguel Olivo (who is the youngest at 30), Michael Barrett, Josh Bard, Rod Barajas, and Johnny Estrada, and Barajas and Olivo both of options that can be picked up...Needless to say prospects are grim.
The Red Sox were rumored to be after youngsters such as Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and former farmhand Kelly Shoppach. The logical choice of the two would be Saltlamacchia because the Rangers already have a young prospect behind the plate in Max Ramirez therefore Saltlamacchia would come at a lesser price.
Shoppach looks like the better player than Saltalamacchia after hitting 21 home runs in about half a season. Plus the Indians plan to move Victor Martinez to first base at some point and that point could be now with the emergence of Shoppach.
Letting Shoppach go to the Red Sox would mean the Indians would probably need Michael Bowden and/or Lars Anderson as the headliners of the package, and I don't think the Red Sox are willing to make that deal.
3. Chase Mark Teixeira
Notice how I didn't say sign Teixeira at all costs. I omitted the "sign" portion because I think it is fairly obvious to everyone involved with Teixeira and baseball that the Red Sox will be facing stiff competition for the switch-hitting first baseman's services.
The Red Sox desperately need another bat, especially if Mike Lowell doesn't return to full strength and Teixeira's defensive flexibility and hitting approach seem to make him the perfect candidate for Boston.
He could play first base, and the Red Sox could move Youkilis back to third base permanently, giving the Red Sox gold glovers at the corner infield positions.
However, the Red Sox should be wary of getting into a bidding war with the Yankees, Angels, or Orioles, all three of whom seem prepared to offer Teixeira a huge pile of cash to bring him in.
The Red Sox have plenty of money to spend, but it would be better served somewhere else because they could possibly sign two productive players for Teixeira's hypothetical price tag.
My guess is that this could come down to the Yankees and the Red Sox if both teams are actually interested, and this off-season, I wouldn't bet any amount of money against Hank Steinbrenner, the big guy seems to determined to open up his checkbook to put the Yankees back in the playoffs.
4. Sign another front-line starter
Now when I say front-line I do not mean that the Red Sox need to go after C.C. Sabathia, who would probably not play in Boston anyway. At the same time, if Jake Peavy is available for the right cost, I don't think the Red Sox can whiff on another ace the way they did on Johan Santana.
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