Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is in for a nice raise after proving himself in 2011, his first full season in Boston.
He avoided arbitration with the team as they agreed on a one-year, $2.5 million contract today. Saltalamacchia made $750,000 last season.
In only 103 games, he threw out 28 potential basestealers, the most by a Red Sox catcher since Jason Varitek had 29 in 2002.
Still only 26-years-old, Saltalamacchia's best days are ahead of him and Boston made a shrewd move earlier this winter by signing free agent Kelly Shoppach (a former Red Sox prospect) to back up Salty. On paper, they appear to form the perfect platoon since Shoppach crushes right-handed pitchers and Saltalamacchia struggles against them. Plus, Shoppach is a quality defensive catcher which is something the Red Sox finally seem to be valuing rather than ignoring completely.
When you add in promising youngster Ryan Lavarnway, who will likely start the season in Pawtucket, Boston's catcher position is in better shape than it has been for years in terms of depth.
UPDATE 1/17: The Red Sox agreed to terms with lefty reliever Franklin Morales on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. They avoided arbitration and terms were not disclosed.
After getting traded to Boston in May from Colorado, Morales had 28 scoreless outings in 36 appearances. Between the Rockies and Red Sox, he had career-highs in innings pitched (46.1), strikeouts (42) and holds (10) while having an ERA of 3.69 (19 ER).
At 25, he's a low risk guy that seems to have a decent arm. Since he's a lefty, it makes sense to give him a full season before moving on.
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