The Red Sox have officially brought back Victor Martinez for the 2010 season, while declining the team's 2010 option for Jason Varitek.
No shockers here. V-Mart came to the Sox and just simply mashed the ball. There was no doubt he'd be back.
With Varitek, only one option exists now: his player option. The team option was worth $5M -- an option that only would have been exercised if Varitek won the MVP in 2009 (OK, that wasn't a steadfast rule in the contract, but it essentially would have to happen). The player option is worth $3M. This gives Varitek the choice to come back or test the free agent waters.
Now we all know the smart thing for Varitek and agent Scott Boras is to exercise the player option. However, we saw Varitek and Boras do the very unsmart thing last year and decline arbitration and opt for free agency. Dumb. Will they make the same mistake twice? Who knows.