David Ortiz?

[Dr Positivity]

Everyone is talking about Fielder and Pujols, but aside from being guys you have to sign to 150 mil contracts, they're also at the top of the list for Yankees and etc. and their teams will be very, very willing to give them what they want, methinks

I haven't heard anyone mention Ortiz. You could probably get him for 3 years or something, at a reasonable per year hit. Quietly he has the 2nd highest OPS in the AL (.993). This is by far his best season since 2007 albeit his batting average looks a bit high for him. As for being 35, well that's why the contract will be manageable. As a historical comparison, Frank Thomas was a .900 OPS+ player until 38 albeit in some shorter AB seasons the last few with the White Sox. His first season here was still .857 OPS and 2.0 WAR, so not embarrasing and better than what we have at DH now. He'll guarantee walks and HRs. If Ortiz was just a .850 OPS player, that's not a bad option at DH for 3 years

Also, if you have a chance to sign Fielder or Pujols to play at 1B or break the bank for Votto, you could very well do that *and* get Ortiz to play DH. How about Bautista-Fielder-Ortiz in the middle of the lineup?

[Randle McMurphy]

If the Red Sox want to give Fielder a ton of money to DH for them, the Jays could grab Ortiz, sure.

But I expect he'll be back in Boston. I certainly wouldn't want to overpay for him.

[Evermore]

Beware of a 35 year old (admitted steroid user) who puts up career numbers in their contract season...


He'll be 36 in a few months...

I'd be very hesitant to overpay for his services...something the Jays would almost certainly have to do to get him to leave Boston...

[Weems]

I don't like Fielder at 1B all that much.

But if we strike out on Fielder/Pujols, I'd take Ortiz depending on the contract.

[Evermore]

Ortiz probably doesn't leave Boston for less than 15 million a season...


Anyone here prepared to offer 45 million over 3 years?

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Like Varitek, Ortiz is the heart and soul of the Red Sox, so I'd be surprised if they let him walk.

That being said, a year + mutal option with a big buyout maybe?

[flatjacket1]

I think the Jays should only sign large deals (10M+) to retain players grown through the organization (Kind of like what the Rays do... minus the resigning part) and use small deals to patch holes.

Why do all of this conservative spending on young talent then blow out a 45M 3 year deal for a 35 year old. Just doesn't make sense to me.

[youngLion]

I'd rather the team got Fielder obviously, but Ortiz isn't a bad fallback plan. There's no way he gets anywhere close to the contract cited above. Vlad Guerrero had a great season last year at age 35 and he only got 8mill or so for one year if memory serves. Ortiz may do better than that, but there's no way he gets a 3 year deal at that number.

[Evermore]

I'd rather the team got Fielder obviously, but Ortiz isn't a bad fallback plan. There's no way he gets anywhere close to the contract cited above. Vlad Guerrero had a great season last year at age 35 and he only got 8mill or so for one year if memory serves. Ortiz may do better than that, but there's no way he gets a 3 year deal at that number.

Red Sox gave Varitek 40 million over 4 years in a similiar situation...

And he wasn't coming off a season with a .900+ OPS


Ortiz was a big part of the 2004 and 2007 championship teams...and is a fan favorite in the city

If they're willing to throw 20+ million at Crawford...I really don't see them passing on Ortiz for 12 - 13 million a season...


A better example than Guerrero...is Jeter

Yankees overpaid big time to re-sign him (3 years @ 51 million)...just because he's been such a big part of their success

[youngLion]

I'd rather the team got Fielder obviously, but Ortiz isn't a bad fallback plan. There's no way he gets anywhere close to the contract cited above. Vlad Guerrero had a great season last year at age 35 and he only got 8mill or so for one year if memory serves. Ortiz may do better than that, but there's no way he gets a 3 year deal at that number.

Red Sox gave Varitek 40 million over 4 years in a similiar situation...

And he wasn't coming off a season with a .900+ OPS

That's not a similar situation situation at all. Varitek was 32 at the time, Ortiz is going to be 36 when free agency rolls around. Varitek plays a premium defensive position, Ortiz can't play any defensive position; he's played 13 innings total in the field this year. Ortiz is a better hitter to be sure, but his numbers versus lefties are sure to normalize after this season, and aging DHs just aren't a very hot free agent commodity these days.

If they're willing to throw 20+ million at Crawford...I really don't see them passing on Ortiz for 12 - 13 million a season...

You said 15mill and 3 seasons. The term is more far fetched than the number, though I don't think he'll get $15mill in any case... We can debate whether or not the Crawford contract is a good one, but at the time of its signing Crawford was in an entirely different place in his career, again there's no comparison.

A better example than Guerrero...is Jeter

Yankees overpaid big time to re-sign him (3 years @ 51 million)...just because he's been such a big part of their success

This is just bonkers. There's arguably nobody in professional sports who defines his franchise as much as Jeter. You can argue that he's the best player in Yankee history. Ortiz is popular in Boston to be sure but that in no way matches up to what Jeter is in New York. He's the most important legacy player in the league. I don't know this offhand, but I would imagine Dustin Pedroia is more popular than Ortiz is in Boston anyway. If they signed Fielder or Pujols Boston fans wouldn't be too broken up about losing Papi.

And don't forget that Jeter still has some defensive value. He doesn't deserve all of those gold gloves, but you can at least throw him out there at short and expect him to be competent, and eventually they can move him to second or left. Boston can't even stomach playing Ortiz at first for a couple of interleague games.

Guerrero and Ortiz are both aging great hitters in their decline phase. They're both confined to DHing. That's the comparison. Ortiz may get 10-12mill, but there's no way in hell he gets at three year deal.

[Evermore]

I'd rather the team got Fielder obviously, but Ortiz isn't a bad fallback plan. There's no way he gets anywhere close to the contract cited above. Vlad Guerrero had a great season last year at age 35 and he only got 8mill or so for one year if memory serves. Ortiz may do better than that, but there's no way he gets a 3 year deal at that number.

Red Sox gave Varitek 40 million over 4 years in a similiar situation...

And he wasn't coming off a season with a .900+ OPS

That's not a similar situation situation at all. Varitek was 32 at the time, Ortiz is going to be 36 when free agency rolls around. Varitek plays a premium defensive position, Ortiz can't play any defensive position; he's played 13 innings total in the field this year. Ortiz is a better hitter to be sure, but his numbers versus lefties are sure to normalize after this season, and aging DHs just aren't a very hot free agent commodity these days.

If they're willing to throw 20+ million at Crawford...I really don't see them passing on Ortiz for 12 - 13 million a season...

You said 15mill and 3 seasons. The term is more far fetched than the number, though I don't think he'll get $15mill in any case... We can debate whether or not the Crawford contract is a good one, but at the time of its signing Crawford was in an entirely different place in his career, again there's no comparison.

A better example than Guerrero...is Jeter

Yankees overpaid big time to re-sign him (3 years @ 51 million)...just because he's been such a big part of their success

This is just bonkers. There's arguably nobody in professional sports who defines his franchise as much as Jeter. You can argue that he's the best player in Yankee history. Ortiz is popular in Boston to be sure but that in no way matches up to what Jeter is in New York. He's the most important legacy player in the league. I don't know this offhand, but I would imagine Dustin Pedroia is more popular than Ortiz is in Boston anyway. If they signed Fielder or Pujols Boston fans wouldn't be too broken up about losing Papi.

And don't forget that Jeter still has some defensive value. He doesn't deserve all of those gold gloves, but you can at least throw him out there at short and expect him to be competent, and eventually they can move him to second or left. Boston can't even stomach playing Ortiz at first for a couple of interleague games.

Guerrero and Ortiz are both aging great hitters in their decline phase. They're both confined to DHing. That's the comparison. Ortiz may get 10-12mill, but there's no way in hell he gets at three year deal.

I said it would take about 15 million or so to pry Ortiz away from the Red Sox...

I didn't say the Red Sox would have to pay that much to re-sign him


And, no...I can't

If anything...I might argue that Jeter is the most over-rated player in franchise history...and I think you just proved that point for me

[Mak]

Ortiz is a short term solution at best. 1-2 years max? If we have to overpay for someone I'd rather it be Fielder or Pujols. If everything else fails sure, clearly he'd help our team even if short term.

[Mak]

This is just bonkers. There's arguably nobody in professional sports who defines his franchise as much as Jeter. You can argue that he's the best player in Yankee history. Ortiz is popular in Boston to be sure but that in no way matches up to what Jeter is in New York. He's the most important legacy player in the league. I don't know this offhand, but I would imagine Dustin Pedroia is more popular than Ortiz is in Boston anyway. If they signed Fielder or Pujols Boston fans wouldn't be too broken up about losing Papi.

I'd like to see somebody try. I think it would be pretty fun. Can you do it?

[Raps in 4]

No thanks.

[Evermore]

When asked if Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world, John Lennon replied "he's not even the best drummer in the band"


That's pretty much how I feel about Jeter...who isn't even the best shortstop on his team

[youngLion]

This is just bonkers. There's arguably nobody in professional sports who defines his franchise as much as Jeter. You can argue that he's the best player in Yankee history. Ortiz is popular in Boston to be sure but that in no way matches up to what Jeter is in New York. He's the most important legacy player in the league. I don't know this offhand, but I would imagine Dustin Pedroia is more popular than Ortiz is in Boston anyway. If they signed Fielder or Pujols Boston fans wouldn't be too broken up about losing Papi.

I'd like to see somebody try. I think it would be pretty fun. Can you do it?

Didn't say that was my own opinion (it's not); I was trying to make a point about the two players' disparate legacies.

You can bet that when Jeter retires that plenty of people are going to be espousing that very opinion though.

[Mak]

This is just bonkers. There's arguably nobody in professional sports who defines his franchise as much as Jeter. You can argue that he's the best player in Yankee history. Ortiz is popular in Boston to be sure but that in no way matches up to what Jeter is in New York. He's the most important legacy player in the league. I don't know this offhand, but I would imagine Dustin Pedroia is more popular than Ortiz is in Boston anyway. If they signed Fielder or Pujols Boston fans wouldn't be too broken up about losing Papi.

I'd like to see somebody try. I think it would be pretty fun. Can you do it?

Didn't say that was my own opinion (it's not); I was trying to make a point about the two players' disparate legacies.

You can bet that when Jeter retires that plenty of people are going to be espousing that very opinion though.

Not really. Jeter is not even close to being in the top 5 best Yankees of all time.