The Sox front office currently has Boras – and by proxy Varitek – exactly where they want him in a negotiating sense. ‘Tek has no other offers to speak of and the cost of a multi-year contract along with a first round pick – by virtue of his Type A free agent status – virtually guarantees that there won’t be any teams ardently hopping into the mix.

The situation is surely a desired one for Sox General Manager Theo Epstein as it puts the all-important leverage hammer squarely in Boston’s corner, and gives them all-important flexibility to explore several different options.

“We’re looking at all the different options,” said Sox GM Theo Epstein. “We could end up being really young with both catchers, and it’s something we’ve discussed internally and we’re comfortable with if it comes to that.”

We might have a veteran and a young catcher, or we might have two veterans…we’re pretty open,” added Epstein. “If you figure that [the young catchers] are the right players and we have the right infrastructure in place on our coaching staff to be able to handle something like that if it came to pass. Obviously it’s a bit of a risk with a young catcher’s ability to handle the staff; the grind, mentally and physically, catching for a competitive big league club. But at the same time it’s also a good opportunity to build value in players. If you take two young catchers and throw them out there and they do well, then all of a sudden you’ve got incredible value for the organization going forward.”

Let’s list those preferences in order from most to least desirable and throw in some specific names that could realistically end up behind the plate for Boston next season – and characterize each option with the single greatest way to characterize a topic: Great One Hit Wonder tunes from the 80’s.

Walking on Sunshine (top option)
The Sox are able to retain Sox catcher/captain Jason Varitek with either a one or two-year deal that doesn’t exceed $12-14 million (in the event that it reaches two years) or $10 million if it’s a one-year pact. This looks like a pretty reasonable possibility unless Varitek is so stung by Boston’s unwillingness to give him a lengthy multi-year deal that he opts to sever his relationship with the Red Sox.

With Varitek in tow for at least a year, the Sox would then make a deal for a young catcher from a select group of up-and-coming backstops and place them in the ‘Tek tutorial program for at least a year or two. Included in the surprisingly broad group of wet-behind-the-ear backstops: Diamondbacks’ Miguel Montero, Rangers’ Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden and the Indians’ Kelly Shoppach.

While the Sox like each of these young backstops, there seems to be a real attraction between many team officials and the 23-year-old Salty. Many within the team view him as a talented piece of moldable clay with the tools, desire and makeup to develop into an above-average backstop after getting tutored by the catching guru, Sox coach Gary Tuck.

“I had Saltalamacchia for about a year and a half, and I knew of Teagarden my first year; he was hurt. But last year I got an opportunity to watch him play and he's been a great catch and throw guy,” said Texas Manager Ron Washington. “He does have a feel for calling ballgames, and I think we are in pretty good shape. We get a chance, once again with our youth and to give them an opportunity to grow.

“[Saltalamacchia] has got a lot of upside. He's got a good body and he certainly has a passion for the position. He's young,” added Washington. “We brought him from [the minors] to the big leagues and had a big learning curve. And we decided to have him go to winter ball this year and he's down there doing a very good job. I'm looking forward to him coming in and handling our pitching staff because it will be young. When you look at Salty, there's a lot of projection there, and we just hope that the experience that he had the past two years will create something that we all hope he's been able to do,” added Washington. [We hope he can] just get our pitchers through innings and be a leader.”

The downside to this scenario: There’s no telling if there would be any friction between Varitek and a young catcher being groomed to someday replace him, and the cost for any of the young franchise catchers would be costly. Texas covets Clay Buchholz in any deal for Teagarden or Saltalamacchia, and the Sox reportedly already turned back Arizona’s request of Michael Bowden for Montero.

We’re Not Gonna Take It (middle option)
The Sox grab one of the available free agents in a decidedly lackluster backstop class and pair the older catcher with either A) one of their homegrown catchers from the minor leagues or pull off one of the aforementioned deals with a catcher. Veterans Greg Zaun, Josh Bard and Ivan Rodriguez at the top of that rogue’s gallery list of catchers, and would likely agree to the short term contract that the Sox are looking to fill.

Zaun is a decent offensive option at 37 years-old and could split time with a younger catcher while showing them the big league ropes at the same time. Bard is already familiar with Boston and many of his teammates after the aborted attempt to slot him in as Varitek’s backup in 2006, and he did hit .338 with 9 home runs and 40 RBIs after getting sent to San Diego with Cla Meredith. Pudge is the biggest name of the group and – like Varitek – has very limited options for a landing spot as a high-priced, aging catcher looking for one final payday.

If the Sox didn’t pull off a deal for a young catcher, the backup/apprentice role could be given to any one of the Kevin Cash/Dusty Brown/George Kottaras trio with the hope that one of the young backstops blossoms in Boston. The Brown/Kottaras tag team put up a .263 batting average with 34 home runs and 110 RBIs in 692 at bats at Triple-A Pawtucket last season, and it’s getting pretty close to put-up-or-shut-up time at the big league level for each of the young catchers.

The downside to this scenario: Zaun put up offensive numbers that weren’t that far off from Varitek’s last season and there’s a good deal of doubt within the Sox organization concerning Zaun’s defensive abilities. He’s a good handler of pitchers and a veteran presence, but the body and the arm just aren’t ideal for a potential No. 1 catcher. Bard hit .202 last season and has fallen off the table since lighting up the NL following his trade from the Sox, and he also isn’t an option to catch Tim Wakefield after the Great Knuckleball Disaster circa 2006. Pudge was criticized for his indifference toward game preparation when he was in his prime, and he clearly hasn’t been the same player – coincidence or no coincidence – since the Mitchell Report came out.

We’re the Kids of America (final option)
The Sox deal for one of the young backstops and pair them with one of their own catchers from the aforementioned Cash/Brown/Kottaras troika. While this situation could potentially work out for the Sox if everything breaks correctly, the young catchers perform well and all of a sudden the Sox are hanging on to some highly valuable commodities for other catcher-starved organizations.

If the Sox were to have two young catchers emerge from this situation, the organization would have their catcher for the next 5-6 years and they’d also have a valuable bargaining chip at the trade table – a scenario that isn’t impossible given the talent level of their targets among other ML teams along with the pretty solid numbers shared by Brown and Kottaras at Triple-A. Likely? Not really. But not impossible.

The downside for this scenario: Catching is a position where experience, poise and leadership are of extreme importance – perhaps more than anywhere else on the baseball diamond – and it doesn’t take a very long memory to remember the struggles of the Sox pitching staff when Varitek went down with a knee injury in 2006. Boston is rightfully lauded for their development of young pitching, but there could be some long nights at Fenway Park if the combination of young pitching and youthful catching isn’t firing just right.