Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will announce his retirement at a press conference on Thursday, the Boston Globe reported last night.

Varitek, 39, spent all 15 of his big-league seasons with Boston, but GM Ben Cherington signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kelly Shoppach to one-year deals this winter to do the catching.

Meanwhile, Terry Francona, on ESPN Radio, called Bobby Valentine’s ban on beer in the Red Sox clubhouse a “PR move.”

“I think if a guy wants a beer, he can probably get one,” he said.