Griffin: Jays to explore possibility of David Ortiz
Jays' general manager Alex Anthopoulos calls it "doing his due diligence" and it's the important process of exploring all available avenues for improving the baseball team that, this winter, according to one source, will include at least discussing the possibility of signing free agent designated hitter David Ortiz, after Big Papi declares his free agency with this year's class in the second week of November.
Ortiz, 35, batted .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs for the Red Sox in 2011. He was in the final season of a five-year contract that paid him $12.5 million in '11. Ortiz, who has played just 39 games in the field, at first base, in the past seven years, has hit 378 career homers, with a .283 batting average and a .922 OPS since debuting with the Twins in '97.
The Red Sox, after the departure of former GM Theo Epstein and with the recent disappointments of Carl Crawford and John Lackey, are expected to be very careful in free agency this off-season, according to club executive Larry Lucchino.
Ortiz has talked about his desire to re-sign with the Red Sox, but on another front has backed off of earlier talk about being interested in the Yankees. Ortiz knows Jays manager John Farrell from his four seasons as the Sox' pitching coach. He knows and likes Jose Bautista, a fellow Dominican, and Big Papi hand-selected him to round out the AL team for the 2011 home run derby this summer at the All-Star Game in Phoenix.
Anthopoulos is known for his thorough preparation. He will likely speak to Ortiz' agent on a preliminary, exploratory basis when the free agent season opens 15 days from the end of the World Series. However, Anthopoulos will not let himself become involved in a bidding war where he chases any free agent and is used to ratchet up bids from other teams.
The Jays' modus operandi under the third year GM is to set an internal value on a player and to not outbid themselves, the style of negotiation that came into play with Cuban lefthanded defector Aroldis Chapman. Ownership had approved additional money for the international free agent, but when the Reds upped the ante, Anthopoulos backed off.
The issue with Ortiz is that the Jays would prefer that Bautista, who will earn $14 million in 2012, remain the highest paid position player on the team. It's likely, also, that off of his outstanding season as the Red Sox DH that Ortiz would look for a raise, since the general impression around baseball was that he gave the Red Sox a hometown discount when he signed a five-year deal prior to the team's second World Series run in 2007.
If Ortiz insists on a healthy raise and with this his last chance at a big contract, if he wants three or more guaranteed seasons at more than $13 million, chances are that the Jays would pass. But if Ortiz finds the open free-agent market not as lucrative as he had hoped with the interest not as strong as he believes, the Jays might then enter the picture late as a developing contender with some familiar faces.
The Jays' primary designated hitter right now must be considered to be Edwin Encarnacion who has a club option year for 2012 at $3.5 million. The Jays have not announced whether they are going to pick it up, but the likelihood is good after the strong second half posted by the 28-year-old who hit .272 overall with 17 homers and 55 RBIs.
The caveat for Jays' ownership in pursuing Ortiz was the signing several years ago of DH Frank Thomas, who was approaching 500 home runs and had just come off a season with Oakland that re-established his credentials as a power threat. He reached his milestone homer in a Jays uniform but was released part way into his second season. The odds of the Jays ever reaching agreement with Ortiz remain slim.
Them not signing Chapman was and remains dumb. You could go to war with that guy in your bullpen. I guess being a jays fan means patting yourself on the back while we watch Brian tallets of the world
Posted by: James | October 29, 2011 at 01:34 PM
No thanks. While a second power bat in the lineup to protest Bautista is a legitimate concern, it needs to be a younger player who actually is capable of playing productively in the field. I would be stunned if a logical and rational executive like AA pursued Ortiz beyond a single phone call.
Posted by: S.Cle | October 29, 2011 at 03:37 PM
Sorry, that should read "protect" Bautista, not protest...
Posted by: S.Cle | October 29, 2011 at 03:38 PM
I am not interested in Ortiz. I like the Jays style of getting young controllable position player assets with potential for stardom. When a young one succeeds you have them for longer and you feel a part of their growth journey. Signing older players to big cash rarely works out the way you want it. This would not be an example of a Winfield or Molitor signing. Now signing a big time pitcher and closer...that is something I would like to see!
Posted by: Aaron H | October 29, 2011 at 04:57 PM
If he was a FA next off-season and we added a few more pieces and a few other players developed ie Snider and Drabek then I could see us signing Ortiz as he could act as that final piece of the puzzle.
Posted by: Adam | October 29, 2011 at 05:27 PM
jays dont really need a 35 year old DH. in jays uniform, big papi might be looking to have same numbers as EE, who is 4 times cheapers than him.
Posted by: alex | October 29, 2011 at 06:39 PM
A one dimentional player who has most likely peaked this past season.
Signing Ortiz would be a big mistake for the Jays.
Posted by: nornie | October 30, 2011 at 10:07 AM
I hope they explore it,have been thinking they should . His presence in the batting order behind Bautista ,the clubhouse and at Fenway and Yankee Stadium cannot be ignored
Posted by: Dennis Zinger | October 30, 2011 at 10:25 AM
This would be a crazy waste of money. Papi is close to the year where his production will plummet because of his age. He's too one dimensional and would clog up the basepaths. Please don't do this. Big mistake!
Stay the course and use the big money only on young studs or keep it!
Posted by: tony | October 30, 2011 at 01:19 PM
I think somewhere in his term as GM AA has to make a move into free agency....it should occur for a couple reasons, first off is this message from management that money is there to be spent, well then spend it....and next and most important is this, any GM knows and fears free agency can make or break their term as a GM as it is easy to hide behind the farm system, "my plan, my philosophy" well that stuff only lasts so long...somewhere he has to have the cajones and make a move....Gillick did and hit "home runs", AA needs to realize "his" plan is not his alone, it has to take into other factors, management, fans etc...will be interesting to see with AA, me thinks he hasn't the balls to do anything as far as FA's go...every GM hides behind this plan stuff, well shouldn't the plan be to win???...just saying......
Posted by: doug | October 30, 2011 at 03:56 PM
Like Frank Thomas, along with an increasing frequency of injuries and especially at this point in his career and age, David Ortiz best days are behind him. A player only capable of being a DH and if he insists on a 3-4 yr. contract, the Blue Jays should pass. One or two years for considerably less money, then maybe.
Posted by: Ron | October 30, 2011 at 08:04 PM
No, no, no, no, no.
Posted by: Walkoff | October 30, 2011 at 10:57 PM
In the post steroid era, the DH needs to be able to play in the field. Lind also needs at least 1-2 games a week as a DH for rest. Toronto's more serious concern is starting pitching and the bullpen. Ricky Romero and Casey Janssen are really the only reliable arms.
Posted by: Jordan B | October 30, 2011 at 10:57 PM
No to Ortiz. No to Fielder. Trade for Joey Votto. Add other top-end Canadians via trades. Add Yu Darvish. Sign or trade for at least one top-flight pitcher. Get a 2nd baseman who is worthy. Bring back Johnny Mac.
Avoid the mistakes this year which started with dumping Vernon Wells (which led to trading Napoli to Texas -- an awful trade -- and also to throwing away Zach Stewart, Zep and Dotel for the Wells replacement, who may still impress). That trade led to wasting time with Juan Rivera and the regrettable bullpenners we had to take from the Cards. The other huge mistake was not having Lawrie for the whole season, right from Spring training. With him in the line-up, Hill might not have felt so much pressure, no EE errors at third, etc. Even with Wells trade, Napoli should have been kept (could have caught, played 1st and done some DH) -- I was among those who said this in March -- because even without the stand-out season he turned in he had a lot more value than Francisco suggested (or delivered).
Posted by: Dan | October 31, 2011 at 02:16 AM
Big mistake to even consider this guy. The Jays have a great mix and they're team players for the most part........great esprit!......this man is at the end of his career (great, though it's been) and wants to make as much money as possible, period. It won't matter to him who he plays for as long as the cheque's in the bank.
Posted by: Gord S. | October 31, 2011 at 05:34 AM
Stay the expletive deleted away from Ortiz. He's a drama queen selfish PED using expletive deleted. He takes himself out of important games for "injuries" that should not knock him out of important late season series against important rivals, like he's done at least twice in the last few years. He'll be expensive, brittle and old, and if the Jays are going to have someone make more than Bautista - which would be legitimate for someone like Pujols, Fielder or their ilk, then it damn well better not be Ortiz. Seriously, I hope AA is only doing this to drive up Ortiz' price for a rival.
Posted by: Kevin | October 31, 2011 at 07:27 PM