Ortiz to return to Red Sox by Jared Carrabis
ESPN Deportes reporting David Ortiz will accept Red Sox' offer of salary arbitration


After weeks and months of speculation over whether or not David Ortiz would return to the Boston Red Sox, we finally have our answer.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes is reporting that Ortiz has opted to accept the Red Sox' offer of salary arbitration.

Earlier today, we learned that the Red Sox had made an offer of $18 million over two years to retain Ortiz's services, but apparently the designated hitter chose the bigger annual dollar figure over another year of job security.

In accepting the Red Sox' offer of salary arbitration, Ortiz will get a one-year deal that will guarantee him a figure somewhere slightly north of the $12.5 million that he made in 2011.

From Ortiz's side, it obviously makes sense for him to accept arbitration and make more on a one-year deal than it would be to take less of an annual value over two years. And if you're the Red Sox, I think $18 million over two years was a fair offer, considering where the market for designated hitters has dropped to in recent years.

Ortiz had originally been in search of a three-year deal with an annual value comparable to the deals that Adam Dunn and Victor Martinez got last winter, but when no teams met those demands, it appears that he decided that a one-year deal to remain one of the highest paid players on the Red Sox was better for him.

However, in doing so, the Red Sox have to spend, roughly, an extra $4 million to keep Ortiz in a Boston uniform. That's $4 million that could have been used towards signing a starting pitcher, which the Red Sox need two of, by the way.

Regardless, Ortiz remains one of the best, if not the best, designated hitter in the American League, and is a welcomed piece back to the Red Sox puzzle for 2012.

UPDATE: (7:30pm) According to a tweet from WEEI's Rob Bradford, "Ortiz has not yet determined whether or not he will accept arbitration." There were reports that Ortiz was in search of $25 million over two years, but if that figure can't be reached, it's likely that Ortiz will, in fact, accept arbitration.

UPDATE: (7:36pm) The Boston Herald's Scott Lauber tweets, "Source confirms that David Ortiz will accept arbitration from #RedSox." There ya go.

UPDATE: (7:49pm) The Boston Herald's Michael Silverman tweets, "Source: The plan right now is for Ortiz to accept arbitration. He has not yet. A multi-year deal with #RedSox appears unlikely."

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Published on December 06, 2011

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