SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Boston Red Sox may replace retiring designated hitter David Ortiz internally or with a short-term free agent rather than pursuing one of the prominent long-term options on the market, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters at the MLB general managers meetings Monday.
Ortiz, a 10-time All-Star, hit 38 home runs, drove in 127 runs and led the major leagues with an OPS of 1.021 in the final season of a 20-year career. He won the Hank Aaron Award as the American League's best hitter this season.
Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Mark Trumbo are among the top power hitters available on the free-agent market.