Backstop Merry-go-round

The contract the Red Sox have put on the table for Jason Varitek has been given a deadline, according to the Globe's "Extra Bases" blog. The skinny is that Tek has one week from the issuance of the deal (thought to be either last Thursday or Friday to decide. Why is this important? Well, for one thing, it would be nice to see something happen before I do my annual Truck Day dance.

So what would be the other reason, you ask? Simple.

A "club source" for the Rangers is saying they're still willing to swap Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. It's nothing but an unfounded rumor floated by an anonymous source, but I haven't gone into this trade, so what the heck.

Let's start with Buchholz. We all remember that no-hitter he tossed in 2007 and his comet-bright start, but let's not forget that last year he went out and posted a 2 - 9 record and a 1.76 WHIP. His ERA+ was stellar 68 (100 begin league average) and he was all over the place with his control, notching 41 walks in   76 innings. To be fair, he was better at Pawtucket where he pitched 43 innings and struck out as many. Sophomore slump? This guy could have been the poster child.

Still, I say "could have been" because he has great stuff. Buchholz complemented those walks in the bigs with an equally impressive 71 strikeouts. He also got slapped around the ball yard with a .366 BABIP for opposing hitters. Clay and the defense made average batters look like Ty Cobb. In the heat of Arlington, with the youth of the Rangers defense trying to cover the grassy expanse, it could be bad.

What would the Rangers be giving up for our stalwart prospect? That would be Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the highly-touted prospect sent over in the deal that put Mark Teixeira in Atlanta in 2007. He cleaned up in AA with the Braves and was decent in the majors before being sent to the American League. When he got to Texas his offense settled down to something downright... unspectacular. Last year he posted a .253/.352/.364 line, and that was with the benefit of a .388 BABIP. Oh yea, and he struck out 37.4% of the time.

You know what? Now that I think about it, I'm not sure Salty's worth Buccholz. Oh sure, this column was supposed to look at both sides and explain how it might potentially work out for both sides... but a blogger can change his mind, and this one just has. It's not worth it for the Sox to make this deal.

Consider this: the Red Sox have George Kottaras down in Pawtucket, and he's more or less a comp for Saltalamachia. I would much rather sign Varitek for roughly $8 million, see what we can do with Clay, and have Kottaras compete for the backup job.

Done and done. Now, go read some Updike. He was a nice guy, and a pretty good writer, too, I hear.