Yesterday we heard that Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is still seeking a multi-year contract, brushing off criticism about his declining offense. The one they call Big Papi hit .270/.370/.529 with 32 homers last season, but he again had to overcome a brutally slow start (.143/.238/.286 in April). After hitting .302/.402/.612 with an average of 41 homers per year from 2003-2007, Ortiz has hit dipped down to .257/.356/.498 since 2008, which is still very good production.
The Red Sox hold a $12.5MM option for Ortiz's services in 2011, and last month we heard that they were prepared to pick it up. Their alternatives would be to decline the option and make him a free agent (no buyout), or attempt to work out the multi-year deal he desires. It's not an easy call, and it's made even more complicated by Ortiz's status as a franchise icon. Time to hit the polls…
What should the Red Sox do with David Ortiz this winter?
Click here to vote, and here to see the results.
Give Ortiz a 5 year, $100M deal.
I would like to print out this comment,hunt you down and beat you over the head with it until it gave you the concussion you deserve.
Someone obviously doesn’t know sarcasm very well.
someone doesn’t recognize a joke very well.
I noticed. Very droll.
I still stick by what I said yesterday. Only one year at a time.
Ya man we owe him that option….. but a multiyear deal is pushin it.
we owe him nothing! he was paid for what he did. I would like him back though.
what there is no way the sox pick up his option
why would you say that? Whats their other option for 30+ hrs. and 100+ rbi?
Paul Konerko
Adrian Beltre
Jim Thome at 80% of the production and 45% of the cost
Konerko will stay in Chi. Beltre, if resigned was there last year and wouldnt be replacing Ortizs production. They would never sign Thome.
ortiz isnt that guy no more.
he put up those numbers last season….. .270avg, 32hrs. 102 rbis, .370 obp, and .529 slg.
Also the big Adam Dunnkey.
But, Ortiz would settle for a 2-year deal at less than $8 million a year. Dunn would accept anothing less than the 4-year deal he wants, which I believe is $60 million.
It was just a thought. Maybe they could do both if they believe in the myth that Dunn can’t DH.
If they do go after Dunn, I think they must get rid of Beltre and Ortiz. Re-sign Martinez. Sign Dunn. Sign Crawford or Werth. Release/trade Cameron or Drew. Move Youkilis to third. Martinez/Saltalamacchia can switch between C/DH/1B, while Dunn does DH/1B.
Crawford
Scutaro
Youkilis
Dunn
Martinez
Pedroia
Ellsbury
Cameron/Drew
Saltalamacchia
If Werth signs instead of Crawford, put Ellsbury at the top spot, move Martinez down, and put Werth in the fifth spot. That would be one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball.
If Ortiz will take 2 years/16M total, I’ll give it to him. However, I can’t see him doing that. He’s already got $12.5M for next year (team option) so why would he take just $3.5M for 2012? If I were him, I’d be looking for a 2 year deal worth 20M total.
This offer probably won’t come from the Sox, but maybe he can get close. Chances are, the Sox will pick up his $12.5M option and then he’ll have to find someone else to give him $7.5M in 2012. This won’t be hard if he puts up another 900 OPS year. Even if he signs a $5M/year contract in 2012, you have to think he could get someone to sign up for performance bonuses for PAs, HRs and RBIs. That should be worth $2.5M easily.
Dunn doesn’t want to play DH, he has said it a few times, though I agree he would be the ultimate DH.
That guy continues to play the OF and he will be the next player on the highlight reels with a ball bouncing off the top of his head and over the wall for a HR.
I meant to play 1B.
The Sawks may need Papi’s production (and presence) but the signs of decline are there. Give him his 12.5M and see what he’s got this season. Any more slippage on his part is just leverage for a more reasonable contract next offseason.
What slippage? His 2010 numbers were better than his 2009 numbers. The farther he gets away from the injury that sidelined him in 2008 the better he gets.
They will pick up the option and play it out again next year, no doubt about it.
why would you say that?
Pick up the option for sure, there is no doubt about that. As for past 2011 I think the Sox should take it one year at a time. They will be out of Cameron and Drew’s contracts by 2012 and that should free up about $21 mil for 2012. The Sox have a few minor league OF coming up and they might need the production Ortiz can give them if Kalish and Reddick aren’t totally ready for prime time. If they are ready though I think you can go in another direction.
Yankees, fetch
Ortiz to the Yankees and Jeter to the Red Sox. yeah right.
Yankees, fetch
None of the above.
Decline the option and work out a two year deal, but it won’t be the one he is asking for.
The wording of any of the answers is just too fundamentally different from anything I’d do.
I chose decline the option. But to me that means they should offer him somewhere between 2yrs/14MM or 2yrs/16MM.
As for Papi, he’d be better off campaigning for the option. If it’s declined then he should ask for 10MM on a one year.
If they decline the option, they will also probably not offer arbitration.
Papi had the highest OPS against right handed pitching in the American League.
He’d look nice in the Tiger lineup in that five slot behind Cabrera. So would V Mart.
Even if the Red Sox don’t want to pay that much, they could surely find a team that would take him on a one year deal for 12.5 mil.
Came here to say that. Something like two years at $17.5M.
Offer him the pitching coach job
This is a tough situation for the Sox. I think they will offer to pick up his option, but they will have to be sure he is not a lame duck, make the call Theo!
Can they pick-up the option, but work out a deal with him on a multi-year deal that would void the salary that was pickup on the option?
Yes sir.
Thank you,
Then that to me would be the most logical thing to do then, at least in my humble opinion.
I completely agree.
I could be wrong, but its called “restructuring a contract” I think Scott Rolen had the same type of situation.
Yeah, this is a no-brainer. If a deal gets done, the Papi is happy which should be good for the Sox. If he falls off, hopefully there’s not too much money attached.
If it doesn’t get done, then you still get him for a year at a reasonable price (for last years production) and you hope he has another good year. If he has a great year, you end up having to overpay him in 2012 (or walk) but if he has a bad year, you can bid him farewell. The downside is that he might be upset that they wouldn’t lock him in, and mope around. The counter is that you can say you tried, and Ortiz will at least understand what the front office is thinking (even if he doesn’t like it).
I wouldnt worry about him moping around. I dont think he has it in his personality. I think if anything it would cause him to show the sox that they were wrong and have a good year.
Looks like another nasty break-up for the Red Sox in the making…
I think picking up the option works best for everyone. Ortiz is still capable of putting up solid numbers that justify the $12.5. Though if by chance his age is catching up to him, picking up the option would allow the Red Sox at least one more year to evaluate. And even if so, it’s the Red Sox, $12.5 isn’t a hole in their wallet like it could be for other teams. Not to emtnion it’d keep Ortiz happy at least for the time being.
Ortiz wants a contract extension, Sox want their DH to hit in April and May instead of this “just warming up” garbage. Yeah, the numbers were there at the end, but the beginning may have cost the Sox a few W’s.I fail to see where Ortiz has any leverage here. Is he gonna pull a Manny and go pout in the corner? He’s lucky to have the option at $12.5M because he’d be lucky to get 75% of that if he was a FA right now. If the Sox offer 2 years $18M, Ortiz should take it. But no, he probably wants 3 years $36M. I’ve always been a Big Papi fan, but no thanks. Sox have better, YOUNGER options.
I think the Sox will (and should) offer 2 years at 8 or 9mil per year plus incentives. If he says no, they pick up the option.
He was bad in 2008, down right terrible in 2009, and then had a renaissance in 2010 interestingly enough in a contract year.
$12.5M sound good, as long as it’s over two years……..
From 2005-2007 his OPS was 1000+, making him one of the top 5 hitters in the game. He’s not that player anymore. However, he’s still been a very productive hitter in the last 3 years, and there’s no reason to think that he’ll completely fall apart in the next 2 or 3 years.
2008: 877 OPS (34th in league)
2009: 794 OPS (119th in league)
2010: 899 OPS (18th in league)
It makes sense to me that he would end up being in the top 30-50 in OPS over the next few years. This probably puts him worth about $8M/year, given that he won’t be able to contribute on defense.
I think his year even though the final numbers were there was definitely off. Also clutch performances were also down. Pick up the option but no more.
Yeah I couldn’t understand why some Sox fans were so passionate about giving him an extension right now? Just pick up the option which is very healthy to Ortiz and see what he does in 2011. I doubt he’ll pull a Manny but if he does them he’s only hearting himself.
While picking up the option might be the smarter business move on paper, one of the incentives in giving Ortiz a somewhat cheaper, 2 year deal is that it would likely make him happier and leave him feeling secure and appreciated. A comfortable, smiling Big Papi is much more valuable to the Red Sox than a moody, aloof David Ortiz who is painfully desperate to murder the ball every at bat in order to prove he’s worth more than simply “having his option picked up.” Don’t get me wrong, Red Sox fans are fickle..and when Papi was hitting .140 or whatever this April I was right there with the people saying that maybe, for the sake of the team, he should be released if he didn’t turn it around quick. But, turn it around quick is what he did with that monster month of May and he has proven, in my mind, that he can still be a very, very productive DH who is able to scare pitchers…even if he’s not the awe-inspiring clutch hitter he once was. When it comes down to it, Red Sox nation stills loves Big Papi and I think the majority of us would like to see him finish his career here. If only he can shake off those ridiculously bad starts of the past few years..
Pick up the option and extend him with options that vest based on performance for 2011 and 2012. Middle of the order bats don’t grow on trees and are far from cheap if you have to go out and sign a free agent to fill a 3/4/5 slot
Before you pick up the option, we have to find out if this is a bridge year. If it is then decline and let him walk. Or offer him low base with huge incentives for each of 2 years. If he truely believes he is still an elite hitter then he’ll grab it. If he wavers then you have the truth….
I think he would reject something like 4M guaranteed per year for 2 years with a chance to get up to 10-14M more in incentives per year. (By the way, what incentives do you sign him to? PAs? HRs? OPS?) The reason is that doesn’t think he needs to prove himself anymore. You’re asking him to prove himself with every at bat. This is the opposite of what he wants.
Meanwhile, at work, I’ve been trying to convince my manager to give me a 3 year deal based on my last 5 years of performance. I’ve asked for no performance reviews over that period, but so far, no movement from my management.
We all know Boston will pick up the option, but I’m curious to see if he will be effected by this during the season. If he finds himself struggling early on will he pull a manny and stick it to the Sox?
Decline the option sense it costs them nothing to do so. Offer something in the area of 2/16M maybe with a mutual option for a 3rd year and if he declines then move on.
There are quite a few DH types on the open market this year and you could easily replace his production that way.
This way if Ortiz declines any resentment will be on him for choosing to leave rather than management forcing him to leave.