From Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald:

Even though Varitek’s agent, Scott Boras, said at the GM meetings two weeks ago that Jorge Posada’s four-year, $52.4 million contract should, as a gauge of Varitek’s worth, be considered “probably representative age-wise and it’s also representative of what a player on a winning team - for very different reasons, obviously - can do,” word is that Boras is not asking for a Posada deal.

A $50 million contract worth some $13 million a year is not in the offing for Varitek. It should require something closer to a two- to four-year deal worth $10-11 million a year to sign Varitek. He is coming off a four-year, $40 million deal.

Teams expected to be in on the bidding include the Tigers and Angels. Do not dismiss the chances of the Yankees going after Varitek as doubt remains about whether Posada’s shoulder, surgically repaired last season, will allow him to catch in 2009.

There is no way this is going to happen. It makes no sense and goes against what Cashman has been working to build. With a superior Jorge Posada already under a huge contract, why would we give a 37 year old (next April) a multi-year deal in the $10 million dollar range, when his line for the last three years has been:

Average/On Base/Slugging Percentage
2006: .238/.325/.400
2007: .255/.367/.421
2008: .220/.313/.359

There's just no way. So, I'm willing to dismiss those chances. We can find a catcher capable of those numbers for a lot less with a lot less baggage. And, even if he was cheap, I wouldn't want him.

Via Steve.