LAS VEGAS, NEV. -- As the first day of the Winter Meetings droned on in the city of slot machines and neon-lit pipe dreams, the number of possibilities continued to dwindle for free agent Jason Varitek.

Boston’s mighty, mighty Captain, who rejected the club’s offer of arbitration that would have guaranteed ‘Tek a one-year contract worth upwards of $10 million, watched idly as the Detroit Tigers dealt for catcher Gerald Laird and the Dodgers essentially took a pass on the accomplished backstop.

The potential landing spots for Varitek are shrinking for the catcher and super agent Scott Boras, but the duo remains hopeful that a multi-year deal is still in the offing for a 36-year-old that hit a disappointing .220 last season.

The Detroit Tigers, one of the few teams with a potential need and the money to satisfy Varitek’s contract wishes, admitted that Boston’s arbitration offering all but killed any interest they in the catcher.

The cost of the contract along with the price of a first round draft pick – the tariff for any team by virtue of Varitek’s Class A free agent status – was simply too rich for Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski’s blood.

One has to wonder if this is the refrain that Varitek and Boras are hearing each time they attempt to get another team involved in the incredibly lonely negotiations.

“[Varitek] was a guy that was one of the names that we looked at as being a free agent,” said Dombrowski. “He is a guy, when we looked at the situation for us, once he was offered arbitration that probably put a big dent in any pursuit we might have had.

“[The Tigers didn’t want] a situation where you would have to give away a high-ranking draft choice for us.”

Sox General Manager Theo Epstein indicated that the Sox haven’t had any active dialogue with Boras concerning Varitek in quite some time, and instead seem to have moved on to other items on the agenda.

With Varitek a question mark to return to the Fens at this point, the Sox are still actively pursuing a deal with several different teams for young catching – with the Rangers, Diamondbacks and Indians chief among those both armed with backstops and willing to deal. Though names like Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero and Angels catcher Jeff Mathis have entered the surprisingly abundant mix, the Sox are still most actively pursuing Rangers backstops Taylor Teagarden and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Sox sources indicate that the prices are extremely high for both of Texas’ young catchers, which would indicate that the Sox are moving on to a shooter's gallery of other options.

Here are some thoughts from assorted baseball people about a smorgasbord of available catchers that have been linked with the Sox in recent weeks, and could be acquired via trade or free agency:

 *Miguel Montero – a 25-year-old catcher with the Arizona Diamondbacks that has been – no pun intended – caught behind starter Chris Snyder the last two seasons, and who the organization is considering trying out at first and third base just to get his bat into the lineup. Here’s Arizona Manager Bob Melvin discussing Montero, who hit .255 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 184 at bats last season:

“[Montero] has been in a difficult situation. I think Chris Snyder has been our everyday guy, where for the most part with Miguel in other situations could be an everyday guy, too, he just hasn't had the reps the last two years to come along in a fashion that you might expect if he was playing every day.

You know, it's a great situation to have two catchers like that, but I think Miguel is a guy that's going to need more at-bats for him to develop in a fashion that a lot of people think he can. It's difficult to do with Chris in his way. We've had to deal with it for a couple years, and we might have to find a way to deal with it again this year.

[Catcher] is the most difficult position to establish yourself at the big league level. Unless you get back there all the time, it's difficult to do. I think based on what he's [had], he's done very well for us. A lot of people see him as an offensive guy, and I would agree, but I think he's got a lot of tools to be a good defensive player. We think he's an everyday player. We've got a lot of guys that can be everyday players.
It's just at this point in his career with us he just has to deal with it like he has the last couple years and we have to do whatever we can to get him some more reps. He's playing winter ball right now, the developing part behind the plate is the most important part for him, but he has the aptitude and the ability to handle it.”

 *Jesus Flores – A Rule 5 Draft pick plucked from the New York Mets organization prior to the 2007 season, the 24-year-old backstop stepped up when Paul LoDuca went down in Washington and flourished. Flores hit .256 with 8 home runs and 59 RBIs in 301 at bats with the Nationals last season, and – in a series of thoughts that would make you think the young catcher isn’t quite so available on the trade front -- impressed Washington Manager Manny Acta in both facets of the game last season:

“We're very happy with [Flores]. He came along faster than what we thought. We thought that he was one more year away from catching every day, and as we had such a tough season last year, some of those doors that were shut down for us, some of them were opened, like Flores getting the opportunity to play because of Lo Duca's injury, and he stepped up and played way above our expectations for at least the first four months of the season.

“We are very happy with the way he played at both ends. He's a guy that for his age, he impressed us with his work ethic when he came down to defense because he spent a lot of time on video, in the video room, worrying about what he was doing, and also, he took a lot of time studying the game plan, the pitching plan that [our pitching coach] put together for us. You know, we were impressed. He's still very young, and obviously most of those kids want to hit, that's the main thing. But he did a very good job separating both."

 *Ramon Hernandez – A 32-year-old veteran catcher that’s been an All-Star during his time with the Oakland A’s and Baltimore Orioles, the Venezuela native hit .257 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs in 463 at bats last season. But the veteran is holding the spot warm for uber-prospect Matt Wieters in Baltimore, and the O’s are looking to shed the catcher’s $8 million contract for 2009 – along with an $8.5 team option for 2010. Here’s what Baltimore Manager Gary Tremblay had to say about Hernandez: 

“Ramon Hernandez probably hit into more tough luck last year than his batting average showed. A lot of hard outs. I think he's a very good offensive catcher. He has experience. He's played for a while. I think he's an offensive catcher and a pretty good bat in the lineup.”