David Ortiz Hopes to Remain with Red Sox Beyond 2012

It remains to be seen what impact a recent Achilles injury will have on the next contract Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz signs this winter. For his part, Ortiz isn’t concerned, and the 36-year-old free agent-to-be is emphatic in his desire to remain with the Red Sox, reports Alex Speier of WEEI.com:

"Through the years, I always keep telling everyone how important it is for me to be part of this organization. This is what I know and this is something I want to be part of," said Ortiz. "I know we’ve been having a lot of issues through the years, but I always try to be honest with you guys. I know how hard sometimes it can be to perform at the highest level here. Things will get better. I think a lot of it has to do with the way the team is playing at the time. When things are going good, you don’t hear any of it. Hopefully for the years to come, we start performing better and all the negativity and stuff just goes away."

Speier notes that following his latest injury, Ortiz will have spent roughly a third of the 2012 season on the shelf. This may raise red flags for potential suitors, but Ortiz isn’t worried as he notes "it’s hard to get a 30-home run hitter," on the free agent market these days.

Ortiz isn’t likely to hit this plateau, but he has turned in another impressive campaign. Over 324 at-bats, Big Papi has hit .318/.415/.611 with twenty-six doubles and twenty-three home runs.

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Should the Red Sox re-sign David Ortiz?

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