David Ortiz and the Red Sox appeared to be at a crossroad. Teams are becoming better at evaluating players, and the market for aging, defensively challenged sluggers has dimished. In the 90′s or even the early 2000′s Ortiz might have been a candidate for a multi-year deal, coming off a season where he hit 309/398/554, with 29 HR and 96 RBI. With the emphasis being placed on defence, and the shift to rotating players in the DH spot, it’s unlikely that Ortiz will get the multi-year deal he seeks. Big Papi was the best hitting DH this year, posting one of his best seasons since the Sox won the World Series in 2007.
Boston isn’t likely to give Ortiz a new deal with multiple years on it, so it was speculated that Big Papi might be moving on to a new team. Despite his limitations, he’s still a tremendous hitter and would be able to improve any team in the AL. However, it’s not a forgone conclusion that Ortiz is leaving the Red Sox, as GM Ben Cherington explains:
”There are options, probably not as strong as the bullpen, closer market, the way we see it,” he explained. “There are options, but riskier and would require some sort of bounce back from injury or bad luck or performance to some degree. We’re going to be exhaustive in looking at ways to build depth to the rotation an the bullpen. We do believe we have some internal options that will help us. But past the sort of top of the starters market there’s a lot of risk there.”
Boston remains the best fit for Big Papi. A one year deal similar to what Ortiz was making now ($12.5 million) would be fair for both sides. While there’s always the potential that Ortiz could decline, he remains a dangerous hitter who can help Red Sox Nation forget about their collapse.
Buy Boston Red Sox Tickets | Buy Boston Red Sox Apparel[...] Could Ortiz Return To Boston? David Ortiz and the Red Sox appeared to be at a crossroad. Teams are becoming better at evaluating players, and the market for aging, defensively challenged sluggers has dimished. In the 90′s or even the early 2000′s Ortiz might have been a candidate for a multi-year deal, coming off a season where he hit 309/398/554, [...]… [...]
One Rant to “Could Ortiz Return To Boston?”