8:55 p.m. ET: The Red Sox have increased their two-year offer to Ortiz, but it's still under $20 million guaranteed so he's unlikely to accept it, according to Sean McAdam of CSSNE.com. Ortiz will likely make around $14 million through arbitration, but Boston is understandably hesitant to commit long-term to the aging slugger.
3:15 p.m. ET: All of a sudden, the rumor mill is active with Red Sox rumors. Here are some of them in this nice little round up.
- John Farrell, the Toronto Blue Jays manager and former Red Sox pitching coach, joined the Mut and Merloni show on WEEI this afternoon, where he said that he was committed to Toronto.
- Alex Speier of WEEI talks about the David Ortiz saga, and says that the Red Sox are daring him to bet on his own future by accepting salary arbitration or their two year deal offer.
- Sean McAdam of Comcast Sportsnet New England says that Red Sox GM Ben Cherignton is not as worried about the right field situation right now compared to starting and relief pitching.
- Marc Normandin from Over the Monster, SBNation's Red Sox site, says that the Red Sox need a closer, and there are plenty of options to chose from, from Daniel Bard to Bobby Jenks to Ryan Madson and maybe more.
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