« Sox to face reshuffled Rangers rotation
Main
Ortiz extension not done yet »
March 31, 2006
ESPN Deportes is reporting today that the Red Sox and designated hitter David Ortiz are finalizing terms on a four-year, $50-million contract extension that would keep Ortiz in Boston through the 2010 season. The report quotes an unnamed source close to Ortiz. The agent for the 30-year-old slugger declined to comment, other than to say that the sides are in active negotiations.
If the details in the ESPN report are true, Ortiz would double his salary. During the club's 2004 world championship season, Ortiz agreed to a two-year contract extension worth a total of $12.5 million -- an amount considered to be a bargain for a top-notch slugger. That extension included an option for a third year.
Ortiz joined the Red Sox in 2003 as an unheralded player who had been nontendered by the Minnesota Twins. In Boston, he has been a star with a penchant for delivering game-changing hits. He was the MVP of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees in 2004, delivering two game-winning hits, and was the runner-up for American League Most Valuable Player last year. He has played in the last two All-Star Games, last year as a starter.
He hit .288 with 31 home runs in 2003; .301 with 41 home runs in 2004; and .300 with 47 home runs last year.
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 11:30 AM | Permalink
Baldi | March 31, 2006 11:59 AM link
mark | March 31, 2006 12:46 PM link
$12.5M per year may be a bit high for a DH, but Ortiz has proved to be one of the top 5 hitters in the game. Getting him locked up now, still at only 30 years old, without a bidding war should prove to be a good investment in the future.