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Barry Bonds remains a free agent, but there's a chance he won't be one much longer (ben_lei/Flickr.com)
Could Fenway be Barry’s next home?
On Monday night, shortly after dropping the finale of a four-game series in Baltimore, the Boston Red Sox revealed that David Ortiz will miss at least a month with a torn sheath ligament in his left wrist. While surgery is unlikely, according to manager Terry Francona, the possibility exists that Big Papi will spend the remainder of the 2008 season on the shelf.
Ortiz’s ailment creates a gaping hole in Boston’s offense, as it costs the Red Sox not only their number-three hitter, but also the lone left-handed power threat in their lineup. That lineup, now featuring Kevin Youkilis in the three-hole, remains formidable, but the loss of a perennial All-Star certainly won’t be easy to overcome.
That, inevitably, leads to the question: what — if anything — will GM Theo Epstein do to fill the void?
The Red Sox certainly have no shortage of internal options. They could make Manny Ramirez their designated hitter and start an outfield of Jacoby Ellsbury, Coco Crisp, and J.D. Drew, from left to right. They could also opt to make Sean Casey their everyday designated hitter, or give the job to one of their AAA mashers — Brandon Moss, Jeff Bailey, or Chris Carter. However, none of those would come close to filling Big Papi’s enormous shoes.
Epstein could also look at potential trade candidates outside of the organization, such as the Pirates’ Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, or the Rockies’ Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday. However, any of those four — and others, such as the Rangers’ Milton Bradley — would cost a bounty of prospects. Most are also signed at least through the 2009 season, which could present an offseason logjam. If the Red Sox were to acquire Holliday, for example, they’d likely end up declining Manny Ramirez’s option and letting him walk this winter.
Given the imperfection of the myriad internal and trade options, it’s entirely possible that Epstein will decide to think outside the box, especially if Ortiz appears likely to miss much more than a month, and particularly if season-ending surgery becomes necessary. In that case, a certain 43 year-old homerun king could appear on the Red Sox’s radar screen.
Since being let go by the Giants after the end of the 2007 season, Barry Bonds has been left waiting on the free agent market, and few suitors have dialed agent Jeff Borris’ number to court him. There are numerous teams that could benefit from Barry’s still-productive left-handed bat, but all of them apparently believe his baggage outweighs his potential. That may well be the case, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and desperation could very well set in at the front offices of 4 Yawkey Way.
Bonds appeared in 126 games for the Giants last season, logging 340 at-bats. He batted .276/.480/.565, with 28 homeruns, 132 walks, and 54 strikeouts over that span. Bonds was productive against both southpaws and northpaws, batting .265 with a .991 OPS against the former and .283 with a 1.073 OPS against the latter. He endured his fair share of slumps, but even when his swing was off, Bonds’ tremendous batting eye landed him on the basepaths well over 40 percent of the time. Clearly, the man can still hit.
The opening in Boston’s lineup seems a perfect fit for Bonds. He may no longer have the power to match David Ortiz’s homerun totals, but he easily meets the other two criteria: being left-handed, and reaching base at a .400+ clip. Bonds’ sub-par defense and balky knees would not be much of a problem either, since the opening in Boston is at designated hitter.
There would certainly be due concern about Bonds’ potentially disruptive influence on the Red Sox’s enviable clubhouse chemistry, exacerbated by the media frenzy surrounding the team in Boston. But, if there ever was a clubhouse situation Bonds could fit into, the presence of the gregarious Sean Casey and the chance to emerge as a “hero” for the team means this could very well be it.
Bonds also makes sense for the Red Sox in terms of logistics and finances. Given the low-demand for his services, Barry would have little leverage in negotiations, and would figure to accept a reasonably cheap, pro-rated contract for the remainder of the 2008 season. That scenario, as opposed to trading for someone like Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, figures to be attractive to the Red Sox, because it would dodge the otherwise troubling offseason conundrum involving what to do with Manny Ramirez and the acquired outfielder.
It may be too early to speculate on what avenues the Red Sox will take to at least partially supplant the production they’ve lost due to David Ortiz’s ailing wrist, but if Theo Epstein turns outside the organization, Barry Bonds’ name is almost certain to draw the spotlight on the rumor mill.
Update (6/4/08 at 11:12am): Theo Epstein announced today that he expects David Ortiz to return within a month, and that the Red Sox are not planning to explore external options to supplant him in the meantime.
New Poll!
In last week’s poll regarding Sammy Sosa’s availability on the free agent market, 59 percent opined that he is worth the risk for a team in need.
This week’s poll question is:
If David Ortiz’s wrist injury ends up shelving him for more than a month, should the Red Sox sign Barry Bonds?
Cast your vote on the right sidebar, and make your voice heard in the comments.
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on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 2:43 am and is filed under Baseballistic, Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants.
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16 Responses to “Could Fenway be Barry’s next home?”
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:18 am
No. Sorry. It’s just not worth it, no matter how much he produces.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:30 am
Bonds, reasonable and cheap do not go in the same sentence together. Have Manny DH and a crazy fast infield or call up Carter to DH, but NO Bonds.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
All due respect, but that would be a horrible idea. By all accounts, the clubhouse is a very close atmosphere in Boston. Barry would be a cancer
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:41 am
Ken Griffey Jr is in the last year of his current contract and desperately wants to win a title. Let Manny DH and Jr play the outfield. At the end of the year decide which to keep. Griffey could be had for a few decent prospects right now since the Reds need to make room for rookie phenom Jay Bruce in an already crowded outfield.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
not a chance!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Just for the record, I actually would probably be against Bonds coming to Boston, but I feel like it’s something Theo should consider, if the Sox become desperate for offensive production later this season, and Papi is still shelved. I share the clubhouse concern, but can he really have THAT MUCH of a negative influence?
I can’t convince myself that it’s worth it right now, though I still think it’s a reasonable emergency plan to consider at the ASB if the problem hasn’t resolved itself by that point. What’s the worst that could happen? Even if it is $5M or so down the drain, the Sox wasted that much on Joel Pineiro last year.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard. If Bonds comes on board for the Red Sox, I’ll start rooting for the Yankees. Bonds is the last thing that baseball needs right now. Please, Red Sox, leave Barry rotting at home.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Bonds is a guy in the middle of a federal criminal investigation who would be under extreme scrutiny to not be using any performance enhancing drugs if he was on an active roster again.
By the second half of this season Bonds would be a 44 year old left handed pull hitter playing his home games in the stadium with a right field wall that’s 380 feet from the plate if you get more than 10 feet left of the foul line, all while he’d be the single most drug tested player in sports history.
Pesky’s pole might help once or twice, but it won’t redeem the swing of a 44 year old who made a name for himself belting hits to a fence 309 feet away while being more juiced up than an Orange Julius stand at the mall.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Geez- why not? I don’t understand why more teams aren’t courting Bonds. He’s the greatest hitter of our era, he’ll certainly put butts in the seats and, I believe, he is smart enough not do anything stupid that would disrupt the team. As far as right field being 390, who cares, Bonds has better opposite field power than most. What specifically would be the downside?
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:45 pm
[…] 12:44 pm Filed under: MLB | Tags: Barry Bonds, Boston Red Sox Just wanted to call attention to this. No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI […]
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Jake, “I believe, he is smart enough not do anything stupid that would disrupt the team.”
Do you believe he has somehow gotten smarter since he last played?
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Putting butts in the seats is hardly a concern for the Red Sox. Either way, it’s a tough call. But I do think Boston’s tight-knit, veteran locker room would be the best scenario Bonds could hope for. Lots of people thought Randy Moss’ demeanor would disrupt the Patriots last year but winning remains the greatest cure all. Gotta say as well; the fit is perfect. LH, power-hitting, DH-only, one-year rental. Most importantly, no reason to part with top prospects.
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
We want Barry! A Barry in the White House, and a Barry batting third. it’s perfect.
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
[…] http://mvn.com/mlb-source/2008/06/03…xt-home/print/ […]
June 5th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Barry would probably help the Red Sox repeat, maintaining the flow between Pedroia and Manny. But Papi’s power void can be filled in a number of ways. Boston’s lineup is already loaded with high OPS guys who hit +/-.300 with power.
With Manny resting his Hammy’s at DH (11 game hitting streak tonite), the fantasy OF of Ellsbury, Crisp, Drew would win more games than Barry.
To elaborate on Daniel’s thought, add Moss, Carter and Bailey to the OF or DH, and each is near capable of matching Papi’s HR output, while maintaining high OPS. Not Manny, but probably close to what Barry would produce at this point in his career. Is the minimal difference worth the potential downside? The Sox are tightknit and pretty clean cut. Leave it that way.
Let the Sox continue the recent tradition of avoiding problematic signings while developing the ‘kids’ . . . this year alone has fielded Pedroia, Lester, Ellsbury, Buchholz, Masterson, Pauley, Papelbon, Hansen, Delcarmen, Moss, Lowrie, Bailey, Carter, VanEvery, and brought young Aardsma and Thurston into the fold . It’s a good tradition.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:29 am
There’s a thousand ways of spending my summer other than watching the King of Nought playing in a Sox uniform. A juicer, a cheat, a liar. Just what we need to show the kiddies that you do anything to keep winning. Why not toss in Roger Dodger? Play congressional testimony on the big screen and just wind the two of ‘em up and watch them robot around the infield before the game to amuse the fans. Pitch catch throw bat pitch catch throw bat. Go Sox!
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