Papi Back for 2011

The Boston Red Sox exercised their club option on designated hitter David Ortiz today, keeping the slugger in Boston for another season at a price tag of $12.5 million. Big Papi bounced back from two straight subpar seasons with a 32-homer, 102-RBI season in 2010. He has blasted 30 or more long balls in 6 of his 8 seasons with the Red Sox, dating back to 2003.

Regardless of whether he's on the down side of his career or not, I think it was an important signing for Boston. Let's be honest -- there may not be a Red Sox player more historically significant than David Ortiz. You could certainly make the argument. He has been the heart and soul of this team for an entire decade, during which Boston snapped an 86-year curse by winning two rings in four years. Especially given that the Sox are in danger of losing Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez to the free agent market, I think it was vital to at least lock up one of the bats in the heart of their order. Adrian Beltre declined his player option earlier this week, so it is likely that the Red Sox will need to bump up their price range if they wish to keep their all-star third baseman. I don't know about the rest of Red Sox nation, but I would prefer to see our ownership spend money on players like Beltre than on foreign soccer clubs.