If Boston decides to completely clean house, the team could have upwards of $50 million cleared from their salary, making a spending spree imminently possible.
Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez are both among the list of possible Sox on the move, but given their 2010 form, would Boston really want that to happen?
Beltre, a 2010 All-Star, has had the second-best year of his career with a .324 batting average, but he has made a habit of playing his best baseball in contract years.
Martinez has been on a tear of late, batting .318 with a .500 slugging percentage the past two weeks, including three home runs against Tampa Bay this weekend.
On the other hand, Beltre's stellar performance basically guarantees that he will forgo his 2011 player option and become an expensive commodity. Re-signing Beltre would likely mean spending a significant portion of the offseason war chest.
Martinez, while not as pricey as Beltre will be, comes with his own set of issues. Basically, V-Mart seems to be heading towards a move to the designated hitter position, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia the likely catcher of the future. Consequently, making Martinez the DH would mean that a big-name bat from outside of Boston — such as Prince Fielder — would not be on his way to Fenway.
So, should the Red Sox re-sign Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre?
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