Jason Varitek Officially Back With The Red Sox

In addition to the introducing their new left fielder Carl Crawford yesterday, the Red Sox also welcomed back catcher Jason Varitek as he officially signed a 1-year deal worth about 2 million dollars to return to Boston this season.

Varitek became a free agent after the 2010 season and actually drew interest from both the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers in a potential back-up catcher/mentor role. It was a bit of a surprise when news first broke that he was returning to the Red Sox last month, but at the end of the day, a captain can never leave his ship.

"There's decisions to stay home. There's decisions to, if you want to take that up, to make that change and [sign elsewhere]," Varitek said. "So I'm just glad when it came down to it, I didn't have to. Those are things that definitely went on in my corner of figuring out what to do."

(via MLB.com)

Whether it be Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Russell Martin starting the year as the Red Sox primary catcher in 2011, Varitek is the best possible person knowledge wise to teach them the ropes and help them understand the pitching staff.  Glad to have you back 'Tek.