According to a source familiar with the negotiations, Varitek can earn the incentives only if he (and not the team) exercises the option, leaving the maximum value of the deal at $10 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Varitek will earn $400,000 at each plateau for starting 80, 90, 100, 110, and 120 games in 2010.
Those incentives, said multiple sources familiar with the negotiations, ensure Varitek will be paid a salary more commensurate with a starting player if the Sox need him to fill that role beyond 2009.
The Sox did not announce the deal because the agreement is contingent upon Varitek passing a physical next week.
According to a team source, Varitek and general manager Theo Epstein spoke via telephone late Thursday night to help bridge the gap. Sox officials finalized the deal with agent Scott Boras just after the 8:30 a.m. deadline.
That deadline, according to a source in the Varitek camp, was established by the club in a letter sent via registered mail dated Jan. 22. According to the source, copies were delivered to Varitek and Boras at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 23, specifying that Varitek had "one week" to reply.
Varitek's discussion with Epstein was the second one-on-one conversation the player had with a team official in the last two weeks. On Jan. 16, Varitek had a 90-minute meeting with owner John Henry near Varitek's Atlanta-area home, a session the catcher requested with the hope of reopening dialogue between the team and Boras.
Relations between the Sox and Boras had become strained in the wake of the Teixeira negotiations. The day Teixeira's eight-year, $180 million agreement with the Yankees was announced, Henry sent an e-mail to the Associated Press saying the Sox always expected the Yankees to get "last call" because "that's what you deal with in working with Scott."
