According to a report from Gordon Edes of ESPN.com, the Boston Red Sox and David Ortiz are close to completing a deal that would keep Ortiz in Boston for the next two seasons. According to Edes, Ortiz was seeking a total of $25 million.
Ortiz seemed like a rejuvenated player last season before injuring his heel on July 16 while rounding second base on a Adrian Gonzalez home run. The injury was just one in a series of events that saw Boston finish 69-93, last in the American League East and their worst finish since 1965. In fact, after the July 16 game Ortiz commented, “This (expletive) team is cursed,” (h/t Boston Globe).
The Red Sox did seem cursed all season. Andrew Bailey injured his thumb before the season even started and his replacement, Alfredo Aceves, blew eight saves—the most in the American League. Jacoby Ellsbury was injured in April, forcing Bobby Valentine to unsuccessfully experiment with lineup changes.
The grand plan to make Daniel Bard a starter was a disaster. Bard was eventually sent down to Triple-A Pawtucket after a performance where he allowed, “six walks, five earned runs and a home run, along with hitting two batters, before exiting with the bases loaded in the second.” (USA Today)
In short, nothing worked for Boston.
Before the injury, Ortiz was one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox. In 90 games he hit .318, with 23 home runs and 60 RBI.
General Manager Ben Cherington and Co. finally gave up on the season in the middle of August and completed a megadeal that sent Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The main purpose of the move was to clear cap space.
With David Ortiz close to signing with Boston, a huge amount of cap space to play with and the acquisition of John Farrell to be the next manager, Red Sox fans may not have to wait too long for Fenway to be friendly again.
