Tim Wakefield just officially announced his retirement and it appears as though his longtime teammate Jason Varitek is finally close to making a decision about his future.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe was told by a friend of Varitek as the Wakefield presser that the veteran backstop is leaning toward retirement.
Varitek’s agent, Scott Boras, told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald earlier today that his client has “not made any decisions yet” about his plans for this season. Still, with Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington saying earlier this evening that he doesn’t anticipate making any additions prior to the start of camp, all signs are pointing in the direction of retirement.
Varitek, who turns 40 in April, batted .221/.300/.423 with 11 home runs, 36 RBI and a .723 OPS over 68 games last season. The three-time All-Star owns a .256/.341/.435 lifetime batting line over major league 15 seasons to go along with 193 career home runs and 757 RBI.
