Free Agent Roundup: Varitek, Burrell, Hinske Sign

There were a bunch of minor signings involving some pretty big name players yesterday.

Let’s take a look at who signed on the dotted line on Thursday:

Boston Red Sox: Jason Varitek, one-year, $2 million.

Ugh. I knew this would happen.

Theo Epstein really backed himself into a corner when it comes to the catching position in 2011.

The Red Sox will go into the 2011 season with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Varitek as their catching combination.

“VTek” and “Salty:” Sounds like a cheesy sports talk radio show in the midwest.

As much as I love Vtek and all he has done for the Red Sox over the years, that ship should have sailed three years ago. But because the Red Sox really have no options for backup catcher in 2011, they had to bring him back.

San Francisco Giants: Pat Burrell, one-year, $1 million.

This is one heck of a team friendly deal. If Burrell gives the Giants anything like he did last year, this will go down as one of the best bargains in baseball in 2011.

After completely flopping with the Tampa Bay Rays, Burrell hit .266/.364/.509 with 18 HR’s in 96 games in 2010.

Despite not being able to hit a beach ball with a tree trunk in the postseason, he was a big reason why the Giants won the World Series.

Depending on what the Giants do at third with Pablo Sandoval, Burrell could split time in left with Mark DeRosa or just be a valuable bat off the bench.

Atlanta Braves: Eric Hinske, one-year, $1.35 million with a $1.5 million club option for 2012.

Good signing by the Braves. Hinske is a solid bench guy who still can contribute to the team.

He is not a “Veteran Presence” in my book. A “Veteran Presence” by my definition is a veteran jabroni, who is just hanging on and really can’t bring anything to the table besides being a good clubhouse guy—think Alex Cora with the New York Mets last season.

Hinske hit .256/.338/.456 with 11 HR’s in 320 PA’s. He can play left, right, first and even third if you ask him, so he is far from a jabroni veteran.

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