It's looking more and more like Jason Varitek will not be returning to the Boston Red Sox. I don't know about you, but that's just fine with me. Varitek may not have worn out his welcome in Boston, but the Sox' captain hasn't really done anything to warrant keeping him around.
Last season, the 15-year Red Sox veteran was horrendous at the plate (batting .221) with 11 home runs and 36 RBI in 250 plate appearances and 68 games. The last time Varitek had a somewhat-productive season was in 2007 when he hit .255 with 17 home runs and 68 RBI in 131 games. After that, Varitek never hit higher than .232 in a season (that was 2010).
We get it, he's a Red Sox lifer. Varitek definitely did great things during his career for the Red Sox - that's why he has that 'C' on his jersey. But he's 39 years old, and his production can only be described as mediocre, at best. Enough is enough.
Why bring Varitek back, other than wanting him to retire a Red Sox? If he wants to do that, he should retire now. Boston just signed Kelly Shoppach and still has Jarrod Saltalamacchia - both of whom are better players than Varitek is at this point of his career. Do you really think the Red Sox will carry three catchers on the 25-man roster? That's unlikely.
Varitek and all of his far-too-loyal fans simply need to face the facts: it was a great run, but it's over. Varitek would no longer offer the Red Sox anything, even in a back up role. It's time to move on.