David Ortiz told reporters that his agent is talking with the Red Sox about extending his deal for another year, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. Ortiz signed a two-year extension with Boston in November 2012 that will take him through the 2014 season.
Big Papi will earn $15MM in the final year of his deal between his $11MM base salary and the $4MM bonus he secured by staying away from the DL for the bulk of 2013. After playing just 90 games in 2012 – his lowest total as a member of the Red Sox – Ortiz saw action in 137 games this past season, hitting .309/.395/.564 with 30 homers. Ortiz told Bradford:
"We gave them what they wanted. I don’t have next year guaranteed and I think I can play another one. We’re working on that. … As long as I feel good I’m going to want to play. … I just hate the situation where I have to sit down at the end of the year and talk about my following year. Let’s do it now. We’re world champs right now."
Ortiz was also candid in telling Bradford that "If [the Red Sox] are smart," they'll work something out. "You know what happens every time people challenge Papi."
While the Red Sox certaintly want to keep their franchise cornerstone happy, they may not be ecstatic about re-opening contract talks. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported earlier this year that the two sides had an agreement that they would not negotiate a new contract or extension until after the deal expired.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
I thought they had some agreement that said they wouldn’t talk about an extension
Like what they had with Wakefield I can live with that as long as it’s not to pricey
That’s what I had heard too
That’s what he wanted to say at the time so people would move on. At the end of the day, he’s produced over the last decade since being on that list. He’s proven it wasn’t PEDs that made him what he is. Now, does that make him any better than any other user? Nope. But IMO, if a player produces post-allegation, he shouldn’t keep being talked about.
I’d be okay with some kind of recurring dealie for as long as Ortiz can perform.
Sure, the Wakefield option (more money than Wake got, obviously). That would be awesome, maybe even make it a vesting option.
A vesting option based on plate appearances (so, health) would make so much sense, at some mutually-amenable salary
Yeah, definitely. Maybe the salary could be based on the qualifying offer (either matching whatever the qualifying offer is that year, or a certain percent of the offer or something).
Why are we agreeing, I’m kind of scared that you’re patronizing me xD
Haha, I’m not always disagreeable…
How did you italicize on Disqus? What is this sorcery, MaineSox?!?!?!
HTML, bro
Sure, why not? They love him and he loves them
I don’t think Ortiz is going to play for any other team, but I also think he plays better when he’s not worrying about his contract. Given what he means to the Sox, I’d love to have Papi back for another year.
If the Red Sox could extend him and lessen the 17M he’s owed this coming year that could free up some much needed payroll room, even if it means a minor addition.
His salary is $15M
I wonder if Ortiz always has clauses in his contracts that say he isn’t allowed to age.
Just do a mutual option like they had with Wakefield. He’s earned it, and then we can shift from how much to will they or won’t they.
He’s too old and makes too much money for that to make sense. Wake’s rolling contract wasn’t a great business move on his part either. That contract was an anomaly.
If it’s mutual, it makes a ton of sense. If it’s a player option it doesn’t. Make it for $12 million and if he’s no longer worth that you tell him no thanks. I personally think they renewed Wakefield’s once or twice too many times just so he could hit some milestones. A mutual option at least means we won’t have to talk about contract with him ever again. I thought we’d have this year off on that front. I guess I was wrong.
They actually restructured Wakefield’s deal for the last two years. He signed a two year deal for the 10-11 seasons at 3.5 and 1.5.
Ortiz is making 15 right now and is coming off a year where he put the team on his back in the postseason. There’s no reason for him to take a pay cut until he’s no longer worth that money.
Wake and Ortiz are both Sox legends, but Ortiz is a star and Wake was not. Wake’s deal allowed him to always remain with the Sox at a price he was comfortable with when he still had plenty of years left to play.
There’s a reason why there’s no rolling contracts like Wake’s.
That really was an absurd postseason performance by Ortiz. It’s amazing to see him adjust his technique at the plate similar to what great pitchers do as they age…
Ortiz is a star, but he didn’t drink from the Fountain of Youth. 12 Million is a respectable amount, far more than any other full time DH is making. The point is for the deal to be mutually agreeable. And he’s not taking a pay cut, because this wouldn’t even start until after next season. The Red Sox wouldn’t propose anything that would financially handicap them, and it wouldn’t be an insulting offer. There wouldn’t be any reason to even discuss an extension unless it was a special circumstance like a mutual option, or a perpetual vesting option.
That would be a paycut since it’s less than what he’s making, regardless of when it kicks in.
The special circumstance is that Papi is coming off an incredible year that delivered the Sox a World Series that defied the odds. Wakefield’s deal worked for Wakefield. It is an incredibly rare type of contract that was well suited for his particular skill set and desires. The idea that they could meet to add another year and just that is perfectly reasonable.
There is no need for the Red Sox to do this. I love Ortiz as much as the next person, but he is about to play his age 38 season… are they really super worried about his age 39 season right now? Why eat up future payroll when there is a distinct possibility of a collapse? Play of the year, re-sign him if he is good. This is a waste at this point.
No worries. This is the new Redsox. If Theo Epstein was still GM Ortiz would of been in line for a 7 year contract.
That’s the way to talk about a gm that gave boston 3 rings.
2 1/2 rings. But yeah, I don’t understand the Epstein bashing.
The Beckett/Lowell trade wasn’t his doing. That was while he was running around in his gorilla suit.
Epstein had an amazing amount of terrible contracts. Lugo, Drew, Lackey, Cameron, Crawford, and the second Beckett extension. He had one great draft year in which he had a million picks.
Now to play devil’s advocate, Larry was always breathing down his neck. So you take the good with the bad, which is pretty good all things considered.
Yeah, ironically the Beckett/Lowell trade was a Cherington trade while Epstein was in limbo about whether to come back. I remember that very well. And honestly Duquette had a major factor on the 2004 team.
And you are right about Larry. Who knows how many of those may have been his doing. It’s easy to judge Epstein (or GMs in general) for bad deals in hindsight because we’ve seen the results but when the actual deals were made they were usually considered good deals that most any GM would make.
Especially for a team like the Red Sox that has money and is expected to contend every year. Leads one to spend even if it isn’t a great idea.
Does Dan Duquette get half a ring for 2004?
Something that has to get done. His bat is amazing still. Could age catch up to him this season or the season after? Possibly, but it’s a risk I would be willing to take if I were Cherington.
Obviously this decision to get an extension originated with the Ortiz camp. And probably brought about because Ortiz and his people see all the money handed out with winter to free agents. It probably isn’t a bad idea for the Red Sox to lock him up for an additional year. However they may want to include some language in the addition about his heel injury.
Ortiz is one of the few PED users who has gotten a complete pass!
Isn’t he still “investigating” those allegations.
And Andy Pettitte says hello.
Andy admitted and apologized. Ortiz is still investigating and trying to “get to the bottom of” the matter since 2003.
That matters?
Given that Ortiz never addressed his positive result for PED use and brushed the whole thing under the rug with his comment with little effort and no negative outcome (hence the free pass) while Pettite at least had the decency to admit and apologize, yes, it is pretty relevant to the discussion. But YOU are the one who brought up Andy Pettite to the discussion when he is not even part of the topic so why are you asking if it matters or not?
It is obvious why you decided to name him and not someone else in a RedSox thread.
J Peralta says thanks for the 50 mil
The only thing that makes sense is a team friendly reoccurring option a la Wakefield. If not, it doesn’t make too much sense. He wants to stay here and is at the end of his career (even though he amazingly still plays like his prime). Even if he has another amazing year, the Sox could always extend a qualifying offer which I’m sure he would except because A: it will be an additional 1 year deal at approx 14-15 million. And B no other team Is going to sign a 39 yr old (yes even Ortiz) to a 2+ yr deal (for prob at least 20 million) while losing a draft pick. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy and the value he has in this city, but it just doesn’t make sense. Or unless it’s a 2 yr 20 mil to shorten the amount this years payment (1 yr 15.5 mil)
Good thing Ben wasn’t asked about it, he would dance around the answer and not directly say how much he means to the organization. It’s ok for you to express how much you like someone Ben. He spoke about Lester like he was someone he had just heard of or met in passing. Just sign him!
Papi = Loyalty! Some things are worth keeping and paying until they prove you wrong! I think Papi has a good 3-4 years left as a DH!
Wait a minute, Ortiz agreed they would not negotiate a new contract until after the current one expired, and now he’s asking for another year?
It didn’t say anything that he demand a negotiation…
Red Sox and Ortiz need to just sign a contract with 20 years of vesting options based on PA’s or something and they can finally stop negotiating a new contract every year.
Yankees gave Jeter a 4 million dollar raise and he didn’t even play this year. You guys are so quick to forget what this guy has done for this franchise. Give him a good raise it won’t kill the Sox. Half of you said he was washed up two years ago and he proved you all wrong. He will be the next Sox player to have his number retired. One of the best clutch players of my lifetime!! Ask the Yankees if they wished they grabbed him a few years ago.
Jeters making less money not more than last year. He had a player option which he had the right not to exercise and negotiated a modest increase on that, but its still well below the 16 million he made in 2013
Ortiz can still hit. And he’s treated like royalty–I’m still surprised by that given the PEDS. But the Red Sox are among the smartest (and certainly most intelligently cold-blooded) organizations. They will extend him only if they think it’s in their self-interest.
Gotta say, not crazy about Papi’s attitude.
He’s always has had a bad attitude and a BIG mouth. Remember how things went when the RedSox didn’t extend him an offer last time?
Any agreement they had to table this issue until the end of 2014 went straight out the window when Papi earned his status as World Series MVP. I want the Sox to give him an extension into 2015, at his current rate of course. That’s how long he feels comfortable going – that’s what Papi gets!
Ortiz has been a great player for the Sox, but they have also stuck with him through extended droughts (for instance, in 2009, he hit 1 homer in the first two months of the season and didn’t get above .200 until the middle of June) where plenty of folks thought he was toast. Some people talked openly about cutting him. Of course, he came back, much to his credit. And he seems to be one of those guys that lots of people love to love. But when he mouths these “You know what happens every time people challenge Papi” comments, he always sounds like someone who takes himself a little too seriously. The Sox-Ortiz relationship has been mutually beneficial, and sometimes he’s a bit of a whiner about getting his due. The Sox have bent over backwards to keep him happy.
Red Sox have underpaid him for every year but 1. Papi for whatever the reason has never seriously tried sell himself as a free agent.
In 2009 he was coming off a serious wrist injury and also his father was seriously ill and undergoing treatment in Boston. There was also the leak about him being on the 2003 list of players who tested positive.
His performance last year is in the top 5 performances in terms of OPS+ of any 37 yo player in MLB history, and that does not include the post season. Only the Babe, Ted Williams, Bonds and Hank Aaron had a better year. Making a mockery of the age related decline curves in recent years. Maybe Boston offers better protection given JWH relationship with Bud.
The guy’s got 3 rings now in Boston w/ a .450 BA in 14 World Series games. And is clearly one of the greatest players in team history. Extend him two years, he’s earned it.
I love that Ortiz talks about himself in the third person (I am not being sarcastic). Pure gold.
Papi just can’t help himself. Not sure who is agent is but he never really got paid what he should have given his numbers. I mean, Mike Napoli makes more than him.,
If Stephen “Mediocer” Drew is to good to play for 14,1 million, Papi has a pretty good case.