Analyitics

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Big Papi to the Blue Jays?

The Boston Herald reports that the Blue Jays "will not rule out" making a serious run for David Ortiz. 

I am pretty sure that no team is ruling anything out at this point (except, perhaps, for handing Lackey the baseball in 2012).  So, that quote alone is hardly scary.  But, the Herald goes on to cite several reasons why Ortiz and the Blue Jays might be a good fit:
  • Ortiz has hit more home runs at the Rogers Centre than anywhere other than Fenway. 
  • He is familiar with and respectful of manager John Farrell and slugger Jose Bautista.
  • He has suggested the Red Sox have "too much drama" and has implied he might be willing to offer his services elsewhere.
  • The Blue Jays are one of the few teams right now that need a DH.
Ultimately, it's likely to come down to which team is able to make a better offer.  While Ortiz has recently said that he is proud to be part of the Red Sox and that he "hopes" he doesn't have to go anywhere else, Cherington has responded, "there needs to be a deal that makes sense to him and us."

In other words:  it's all coming down to money. 

So far, the Red Sox have been better at offering money to aging superstars from other teams than to their own.  But I say we need him around.  He has a lot of baseball left in him, but more importantly he has a lot of heart, and can help us right the ship.

Related posts:
And now, Papi...
Ortiz Goes to Left 

2 comments:

  1. While I enjoyed Papi's season as much as anyone (thanks Gonzo!), and can't imagine a Red Sox team without him, I fear that he'll be one of those players that just suddenly loses it. I be happy if the Sox sign him for no more than two years at market value.

    I suspect that part of what drives their decision is what they do with Yook. He doesn't have too many quality years left in the hot corner, and so if he remains with the Sox, I see a lot of DHing in his future. If the Sox move Yook, look for them to keep Ortiz. If they keep Yook, I would't be that surprised if the Sox let Papi walk and split 3B with Yook and the new guy (whose name escapes me at the moment - something like Alaverez?)

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  2. Sounds like this won't be happening. From JoS: "Toronto has picked up Edwin Encarnacion's option and will likely use him as their DH."

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