“They need [free agent] Alex Bregman back. That would be perfect,” Ortiz said. “He showed so much leadership from the first day he was in the organization. I could see that. When you have a guy like him, you know that you need it. He gives guidance to everybody else.”
Ortiz spoke via Zoom from his annual “Weekend With Papi” charity golf event at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The function is a fund-raiser for the David Ortiz Children’s Fund.
The Fund, now in its 17th year, delivers cardiac care to children in the Dominican Republic and New England.
“It’s been a blessing to have my own kids be a part of this now,” Ortiz said. “God gave me the opportunity to have this lifestyle, but it’s not real life. I have been able to show them what real life is, taking them to the Dominican and seeing the kids there struggle.
“I think they have an appreciation for life, and that means a lot.”
Ortiz was pleased to see Roman Anthony and Carlos Narváez mingling with some of the former players on hand — Johnny Damon, Brock Holt, Jim Rice, David Ross, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia among them.
“It’s like I told [Anthony], anything you need, any conversation you want to have about being a lefthanded batter, just let me know. Just holler at your boy,” Ortiz said. “He looks like a stud.”
Along with Bregman, Ortiz hopes the Sox add a power bat to the lineup.
“The history of this organization has been that you have to have good, consistent power,” he said. “The results look weak when you don’t. You need to have two guys who can give you 30 [home runs] and 100 [runs batted in], especially in our division.”
Martinez also chimes in
Ortiz wasn’t the only Hall of Famer who expressed enthusiasm about the state of the Red Sox.
Pedro Martinez, who attended the MLB Awards Show in Las Vegas on Thursday, was heartened by chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s pronouncement this week at the GM Meetings that the Sox hope to acquire “someone we feel can start alongside or slot in behind Garrett [Crochet] and start a playoff game for us.”
Martinez, a Red Sox special assistant, said it matched his view of what the Sox need.
“Anybody that can be a No. 1 or No. 2, right behind Crochet or in front of Crochet,” Martinez said. “I don’t see anybody that could be in front of Crochet at this point. The only guy you can think of is probably Tarik Skubal, and they’re at the same level at this point. You compare the two seasons from last year, and I think they’re both at the same level. So whoever you choose to be your No. 1 or your No. 2, it doesn’t matter. I would love to see the Red Sox kind of follow in what Breslow said, that they want to go after a No. 1 or No. 2 that could be a No. 1.”
There’s been curiosity at the start of the offseason about whether the Tigers would deal Skubal, one year before he reaches free agency. Skubal, also at the MLB Awards Show, said he hasn’t sought clarification about whether he might be traded.
“That’s not my role. I play. I’m a player. My role is not GM and try to create a roster. My role is to play baseball, and those guys can make the decisions that they want to make,” said Skubal. “I think they know where I stand in terms of wanting to be a Tiger … I don’t care to really waste my energy or time on [rumors].”
Guerrero clears waivers
Righthanded reliever Luis Guerrero, who was designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple A Worcester … The Red Sox have made a number of changes to their minor league hitting coaches, according to league sources. JP Fasone, who’d been the hitting coach at High-A Greenville, has been promoted to a hitting coordinator role. Trevor Burmeister has been hired as the hitting coach in Double A Portland. Doug Clark, who served as the hitting coach in Worcester for the last two seasons after serving in the same role with Portland in 2022-23, will not be back next year. The team is still deciding whether it will hire a replacement to work alongside Collin Hetzler, who was a WooSox hitting coach in 2025 and will be back in 2026. Chris Hess, the Portland hitting coach last year, has been hired by the Marlins as a big league assistant hitting coach … The Red Sox also hired Eastern Michigan coach Robbie Britt to be their minor league field coordinator, replacing Andrew Wright, who recently left the Sox for a promotion with the Nationals. News of Britt’s hiring was first reported by Baseball America.
Peter Abraham can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social. Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.
