All hail Big Papi!
David Ortiz arriving at the Red Sox Spring Training facility in Fort Myers on Tuesday may not be as exciting as Monday’s team news of signing Yoan Moncada, but Twitter was abuzz with writers posting photos of the DH striding confidently into JetBlue Park. Don Orsillo tweeted a photo of a fit and trim Ortiz wearing a Notorious B.I.G. t-shirt. The big man himself tweeted a “selfie” with Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval saying “gonna give these pitchers problems.” Ortiz seems genuinely happy about the additions the Red Sox have made this off season.
Last season Ortiz batted .263 which was his worst season since 2009. The 2014 season also holds the distinction of being the first time since 2009 that he wasn’t on the All Star team. His OPS and Slugging averages were better in 2014 than in 2009, but still not as good as they were in 2010-2013.
The Red Sox have certainly added a lot of offensive firepower to the line up this off season. Are they protecting themselves against the possibility that Ortiz won’t bounce back this year? It seems that the pitching is going to need all the offensive help it can get and this will include a healthy Ortiz along side all of the new bats.
The Sox will play their first exhibition games against Boston College and Northeastern on March 3 at 1:05pm.