Red Sox avoid arbitration with Saltalamacchia

Boston, MA – The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a one-year contract with catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the pact avoids salary arbitration.

Saltalamacchia led the Red Sox with 25 home runs last season, the first Boston catcher to lead the team in homers since Carlton Fisk in 1973. He also drove in 59 runs and batted .222 in 2012.

The 27-year-old switch-hitter joined the Red Sox in a July 2010 trade deadline deal with Texas. He is a career .239 hitter with 64 homers and 210 RBI in 474 games with the Braves, Rangers and Red Sox.