With Victor Martinez set as the Red Sox primary catcher, Michael Silverman in today’s Boston Herald says that Jason Varitek will have to decide if he wants to be a backup on the Red Sox, or seek a full time job elsewhere.
…the Mets were interested in bringing in Varitek last off-season, and i thought at [...]

The Mets could seek to improve their pitching by signing free-agent catcher Jason Varitek,’ explains Ken Rosenthal in a report for FoxSports.com.
According to Rosenthal, ‘Club officials are divided on how strongly to pursue Varitek,’ with some seeing him as ‘a potential difference-maker for their pitching staff,’ while others are ‘alarmed by his .220 batting average last season.’
Rosenthal [...]

Update, 9:10 PM:
In a update to his live blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman explains, “The Mets talked several weeks ago to the Red Sox about dealing Schneider, and hopefully signing Jason Varitek”
However, when the red Sox offered arbitration to Varitek, ‘the Mets turned away from that scenario because they didn’t want to [...]

Manny Ramirez will reject salary arbitration before tonight’s deadline, writes Jon Heyman at his blog for SI.com.
The Dodgers will turn to free-agent OF Bobby Abreu or Pat Burrell, among others, if they are unable to retain Ramirez, reports the Boston Globe.
In a separate post, Heyman describes talks between the Cubs and Padres involving Jake Peavy as [...]

The Padres may have a third team to help facilitate a trade that could eventually send Jake Peavy to the Cubs, reports

In a recent report for SI.com, which is jam packed with all sorts of information, Jon Heyman wrote:

“Some Mets people are concerned about their catching.  But some in their hierarchy don’t like that the best free-agent options… Pudge Rodriguez and Bengie Molina don’t exactly make them younger.”

Meanwhile, in today’s New York Post, Joel Sherman believes [...]

In a post to his blog for the Mercury News, Giants reporter Andrew Baggerly writes, “Expect the usual round of Benjie Molina trade rumors, but take them with a grain of salt.  None of them have had any substance over the past two seasons.”
Last week at SI.com, Jon Heyman wrote that the Mets had discussed [...]

Last week, in a report on SI.com, Jon Heyman wrote that Omar Minaya’s top priority is to upgrade his team’s bullpen, followed by catcher, the rotation and possibly the outfield.
That said, the Rangers are willing to trade C Gerald Laird, according to one baseball source, reports the Boston Globe.
According to Evan Grant in the Dallas [...]