At 36-years of age David Ortiz is having a dream season and was named as the starting DH at this year’s all-star game, his eighth appearance. He’s defied critics this long and it was only two years ago that most of baseball had him written off when he struggled greatly through the first two months of the season. Now he’s leading the offensive onslaught that the Red Sox are capable of laying on opponents and for Boston management, yet another dilemma is upon them; is David Ortiz worth a long-term deal?
The club and Big Papi avoided an arbitration hearing this past winter when they agreed at the eleventh hour on a one-year $14.75MM deal, smack dab down the middle between the Sox offer and what Ortiz and his agent deemed as fair. Now with free-agency a real possibility and Ortiz set to cash in elsewhere should he so desire, the Red Sox have to decide if he’s worth spending the money on.
Through almost three months of the season Ortiz has a slash line of .302/.39/.607/.997. He leads the team with 21 home runs and 54 RBI which is also good enough for fifth and ninth in all of baseball respectively. Not bad for a fella who is said to have his best year’s behind him despite him swinging the as if he’s 28 again. Conor, a staff writer here at BSI recently discussed whether Ortiz could be a legitimate MVP candidate, something that will gather steam if his numbers continue to climb.
He’s the juggernaut in the offense for the Red Sox and has again earned the reputation as a terrifying bat that most pitchers want to avoid leaving anything up in the strike zone. Not only will he make them pay, but he will humiliate them in the process.
But as a fairly restricted DH, Ortiz does not bring a lot of flexibility when it comes to other areas where he can chip in. Sure he plays some first base when inter league play is upon us, but that’s it. You compare Michael Young of the Texas Rangers who not serves as the team’s DH, but he can also play first or third base, proving to be a valuable commodity.
There is one possibility in the Red Sox favor and that’s the talk of a balanced schedule that would potentially see the NL adapt the DH rule. While this could be a year or two away, the Red Sox better hope it miraculously gets instated for 2013. Without it, paying Ortiz what he’s worth could be a foolish signing and we all know the Red Sox have made a few of those.
With Adrian Gonzalez locked up for another six years past this one, having both Gonzo and Papi platoon first is an option while moving the gold glove first baseman to the outfield. An option yes, but a bad idea to even toy with as we’ve seen Gonzalez look more than a little lost this season. The club finally dealt Kevin Youkilis to ensure Gonzo plays first base every day and if a balanced schedule means more inter league play with no DH rule in the NL, Big Papi could be looking for work.
The other side of the dilemma is the contract expectations that Ortiz will be looking for. He made it perfectly clear last off season that he wants a multi-year deal and after accepting a one-year deal to avoid a hearing, you know he’s going to want at least a two-year deal after this season. And he’s putting up the numbers to warrant it. Currently he’s on pace to hit over 40 home runs drive in over 110 RBI.
Should he continue on this torrid pace then anything around $15-$18 million a year is a possibility. Some team will overpay for his services and they’ll likely throw a two or three year deal at him. Meaning Boston could be forced to overpay if they want to keep him in a Red Sox uniform.
Of course that could be the biggest hurdle right there, whether or not Ortiz wants to return to Boston, a place where he has enjoyed so much success, both personally and as a team.
It was only last week that a report from Buster Olney had Ortiz foaming at the mouth over accusations that the Red Sox clubhouse is toxic. Big Papi made it perfectly clear that he’s tired of all the media scrutiny that follows this team. When asked if he’s having fun he flat out said “no.” He also added that it isn’t like it used to be around here, meaning the Red Sox clubhouse. Then when asked if he would return to Boston next season he replied “I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it.”
That doesn’t sound promising if you’re a Red Sox fan and you want David Ortiz back for next year and possibly one more.
From an organization standpoint there is a considerable amount of money coming off the books at the end of this year. Kevin Youkilis (the remainder of his contract), Daisuke Matsuzaka and Bobby Jenks, represent over $20 million that could be invested in Big Papi. Is he worth what three players could potentially get paid? Probably not, but if he’s going to continue to hit 35-40 home runs for the next two years then maybe. Given the incredible lack of power from Adrian Gonzalez, Big Papi might be needed more than wanted in Boston. At that point his price tag may have just gone up.