[protected-iframe id=”a666774ca153e84b4e558a6ccfa7c078-38215605-37431026″ info=”http://nesn.springboardplatform.com/mediaplayer/springboard/video/nesn003/899/1226291/” width=”640″ height=”360″]David Ortiz would like to surround himself with as many good players as possible. Can you blame him?
Ortiz continued his public plea for the Red Sox to re-sign Jon Lester during a radio interview with WEEI on Friday. Big Papi also slapped his stamp of approval on the Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval signings while expressing hope that Boston will consider keeping outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who has been the subject of trade speculation this offseason.
“That’s a guy we need to let him play a full season at Fenway just to see what he’s capable of doing,” Ortiz said of Cespedes on WEEI’s “Middays with MFB.” “He played half of the (2014) season at Fenway, and his numbers impressed me. Remember, this is a guy who played his whole career at the (O.co) Coliseum, and that’s not a hitter’s ballpark. I think, especially with the lack of power that’s in today’s game, I would take my chances just watching him hit at Fenway for a year, just to see what he’s capable of doing.
It’s unclear whether Cespedes — whom Ortiz said has “massive power” — will be around come Opening Day, but both Ramirez and Sandoval figure to be part of Boston’s long-term plans. Ortiz already has a relationship with Ramirez, and he’s now eager to become even more of a mentor as the two suit up together in 2015 and beyond.
“I’m going to try my best to encourage him to do things right,” Ortiz said of Ramirez. “But it’s not like I have to do a whole lot, because he’s a guy who takes things very seriously. He works extremely hard.
“If you go into his Instagram, you can see this guy working his tail off and he’s still four months away from Opening Day. That tells you he knows he has a lot of responsibility. Next year, he wants to show up healthy and do what we all expect him to do.”
As far as Lester, Ortiz’s stance is well-known. The 39-year-old said Thursday at his golf tournament in the Dominican Republic that he’d like to see the Red Sox “step up” in their pursuit of the left-hander. A day didn’t change anything.
“All the conversations talking to Lester and stuff, I think the Red Sox still have the ball on the court. And it’s because we all know that Lester loves Boston,” Ortiz said Friday. “And there’s something that we need to make up, and it was that painful trade … during the season. I know my boy’s feelings were hurt when he got traded. And the reason his feelings were hurt was because he loves Boston. He would do anything for this organization.”
The Red Sox have a lot of questions to answer over the next few months. A few answers could surface during next week’s Major League Baseball winter meetings. If there’s one certainty, however, it’s that Ortiz isn’t a big fan of losing, which the Red Sox did plenty of this season.
Sign ‘em all, he’d say.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports Images
