The trio’s recent production, capped by another effort which largely carried the offense in a 5-1 win at Seattle on Wednesday, further fuzzied the picture. Or perhaps it made it clearer. It all depends on how the Red Sox’ front office looks at the situation.
Beltre homered, Martinez drove in two runs with a double and Ortiz doubled and scored in the win, Boston’s fourth in a row. With a constantly changing rotation of minor league call-ups filling positions all around them, they have combined for 33 RBIs in 14 games in September, better than two a game from the threesome.
The offseason scenarios have been analyzed since before 2010 even began and the trio is aware of the ramifications of each other’s fate. If the team decides against picking up Ortiz’s option, or even if it does and then bids adieu to Big Papi after 2011, a re-signed Martinez may be sucked into the vacuum created at designated hitter.
Should Beltre’s price tag get too high, there is always the option of moving Kevin Youkilis to third, another shuffle that could move Martinez to first on a semi-regular basis or prompt the import of a free agent to man that position.
Martinez recently expressed disappointment with an initial two-year offer by the club. If he walks then the void at catcher could be a big one, especially to a pitching staff that has taken to the 31-year-old, who just so happens to be the team’s best hitter against left-handers, no minor bargaining chip when one considers the struggles in that realm for Ortiz.
While nobody would ever ask for such a scenario, it would probably be easy on the front office if just one of the three hit machines had showed some sort of decline. But aside from Ortiz’s painstakingly slow start and Martinez’s time on the disabled list, almost nothing has detracted from their statement seasons.
And when the bargaining table becomes active, each player can point to the stretch run as proof positive that they have what it takes.
Beltre, likely the team MVP amid a season that has seen him completely avoid a slump, smacked a solo homer in the fourth to get the Red Sox on the board Wednesday. It was his 28th of the season and helped bump his average to .457 (16-for-35) over a 10-game span.
Martinez’s double gave him an impressive 11 RBIs over the same stretch, during which he has hit .300 (12-for-40). Ortiz’s double allowed him to improve to .303 (10-for-33) with three homers, four doubles and nine RBIs in the same 10-game explosion for the heart of the order.
Put it together and you have a 3-4-5 combination batting .352 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in a 10-game period that has the Sox still clinging to playoff hopes.
While Beltre has been the best of the lot all year, when you factor in their respective positions, age and track record, it might be a dead heat between three horses trying to prove to the Red Sox that they have staying power.
