The Red Sox have re-signed their longtime DH and face of the franchise, David Ortiz.
According to reports, the team and Ortiz have come to terms on a two-year contract worth an estimated $26 million. The deal, first reported by CSNNE.Com's Sean McAdam , means that the Dominican-born slugger who turns 37 this month will avoid the free-agent market and return to Boston for an 11th season. Incentives could reportedly pump up the contract's value to $30 million.
Ortiz, who was at the Celtics' home opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, was asked if it's good to be coming back to Boston, said, "Yeah, man. I haven't talked to my agent, though. I know they were trying to finish things up. He hasn't called me, so I don't know where they're at."
On the reported deal, he said, "You all know I want to be back. I've been here for a while. It doesn't get any better."
Before he suffered a torn Achilles' tendon in July, Ortiz was having perhaps the most productive season of any hitter in the American League -- batting .318 with a .415 on-base percentage and .611 slugging percentage.
Rumors swirled in recent days of the two sides not being close to a deal, and on Friday, word broke that the Texas Rangers -- who recently hired ex-Boston hitting coach Dave Magadan to the same position -- have expressed interest in Ortiz, should he hit the open market. Baltimore was also said to be a possible landing spot.
In his 10 seasons wearing a Red Sox uniform, Ortiz gained a reputation as one of the league's best clutch hitters, helping lead the Red Sox to two World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. In Boston, Ortiz batted a combined .290, drove in an average of 109 runs per season and hit an average of 34 home runs per year.
While a fan favorite, Ortiz's reputation in Boston isn't exactly spotless. In 2009, he acknowledged that a New York Times report that he was one of the players to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 was accurate. He said he believed that then-legal supplements and vitamins likely caused him to land on that list of alleged drug users seized by the federal government.
And just last month, former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Ortiz sidelined himself after a brief return from his Achilles injury because the team dealt away Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford -- a trade that confirmed Boston would not contend for a postseason berth.