Bobby Valentine certainly wasn't kidding when no time would be wasted in beginning his duties as the Red Sox's manager. Within 24 hours of his introductory conference at Fenway Park as the team's new manager, Bobby Valentine was on a plane to the Dominican Republic to visit with long time Sox DH and free agent David Ortiz and play in his celebrity golf tournament.
According to reports, Valentine wasn't down in the Dominican just for the nice weather and 18 holes, he was down there to recruit David Ortiz back to the Red Sox for next season. Here is a picture of the two just after the afternoon golf outing:
The longtime Red Sox hit Free Agency for the first time since 2002 and is regarded as the best designated hitter on the open market currently. Recently, he has stated that he would want a three-year deal from Boston, but that seems quite unreasonable at age 36.
While there has been conversational dialogue between Ortiz's agent and team GM Ben Cherington, the team has already offered him salary arbitration that would guarantee him a contract for next season. Ortiz has until Wednesday of next week to accept the offer.
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