"David is (too) proud and respectful to say how he feels in public, but the guy feels hurt, upset by the way that he is being ignored by the Red Sox,” said an unnamed source according to Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston. “After all he’s done here and having a good season, he was at least hoping to be approached by the team to talk about his future.”
In a contract year, David Ortiz is having a great season. Through 109 games, Ortiz is batting .295 leading the team with 22 home runs and is second behind Adrian Gonzalez with 76 RBI. This past Monday, Ortiz went 4-5 with a homerun, only a triple shy of the cycle. He fills a major part of our lineup as his power is still there in which many people questioned over the past few seasons.
David Ortiz has made it known that he wants to finish his career in Boston and the Red Sox should make sure that happens, for the right price of course. This guy should almost have a free pass to stay in a Red Sox uniform for the rest of his Major League career. How sickening would it feel to see Big Papi in another jersey? Ortiz and the Red Sox are basically in the same situation as Derek Jeter and the Yankees were this offseason. Both are franchise players who have done just about everything for their respective ballclubs for a long period of time. Let's face it, David Ortiz is one of the biggest faces in Boston sports history. His clutch hitting almost single handedly carried the Red Sox to their first title in 86 years when he had clutch hit after clutch hit in the 2004 playoffs. He was also an intricate part of the 2007 World Series team. Big Papi is beloved by his teammates and is a tremendous clubhouse guy, lightening the mood with his charisma and contagious smile.
Fans love him too for what he does on and off the field, even after he tested positive for steroids. Watching him at the homerun derby the past few years has been a gift to fans world wide. Players all around baseball adore the guy as you see him having fun with everybody, even players like Cano and Texeira from the rival Yankees. David Ortiz is a guy that every team would love to have. So why don't the Red Sox re-sign him?
There are many reasons why the Red Sox upper management haven't negotiated Papi's contract during this season. The first being that they don't want it to be a distraction for either side and that they will discuss it when the time is right. Second, what if Papi were to go down with a major injury after they re-sign him? Or what if he tanks towards the end of the season and bats .150? There are many factors that the Red Sox front office have to consider if they want Papi to return next season, or for the rest of his career. Will he sign a 1 year deal? Probably not. How much money is he willing to take to finish his career in Boston? These are all major issues the Red Sox front office need to take care of sooner than later. For all that Ortiz has done for this city and this ballclub, they almost have to sign him no matter the cost or risk.
This situation is eerily similar to Derek Jeter and the Yankees and we all know the Yankees had to re-sign him. You can't let a guy that has done so much walk away and put on a new uniform. You just can't let that happen and I expect the Red Sox to do the right thing and let Ortiz finish his career in Boston. MLB is a business but in some situations you have to look at the personal side of things. The right thing to do is re-sign David "Big Papi" Ortiz for a 2-3 year deal and let him finish his career in the City of Champions.
They need a 2 year contract for around 8-9 mil a season with the option for the 3rd. he’s making 12 this year I think and you know hes not going to go for a 1 year contract. I think if you can give him a little insurance with a 2 year contract with the option for the 3rd he will be back next year. Either way they need to sign him who is a better DH available right now?
ReplyDelete