Adrian Beltre signs one-year deal with Red Sox

Posted on January 4, 2010

Adrian Beltre of the Seattle Mariners makes a play at third base against the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, CA on June 15, 2006. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

It looks like the Oakland A’s did not have enough cash to compete with the Boston Red Sox for the best free agent third baseman available this Winter, so Adrian Beltre has shunned the A’s and agreed to a one-year deal to play for the Red Sox in 2010 this evening. Peter Gammons is reporting that the deal will call for $9 million for the first year with a player option for $5 million.

Beltre hit .265 for the Mariners in 2009 with 8 homers and 44 RBIs in only 111 games. Beltre’s decision not to wear a cup despite playing third base has been well-documented and helped put him on the disabled list when on August 13, 2009, when he took a hard ground ball to the crotch. Although he stayed in for the remainder of the 14 inning victory, he was put on the DL after suffering bleeding in one of his testicles. The hilarity continued in his first game back from the DL from that injury, as teammate Ken Griffey Jr. conspired with those responsible for the Safeco Field PA system to have Beltre’s at-bat intro music be the waltz from The Nutcracker Suite.

Beltre has always been known as a great fielder at third base as he won back-to-back American League Gold Glove Awards at third base for the Mariners in 2007 and 2008. His power numbers in Seattle, however, were a major disappointment. Beltre was paid $12 million in 2009, the last year of the five-year, $64 million deal he’d signed as a free agent with the Mariners after having a monster season for the Dodgers in 2004. In his career year with the Dodgers Beltre hit .334 with 48 homers and 121 RBIs. I watched him play many games that season as he killed the Giants and everyone else in the National League. He hit bombs all over the ballpark and hit some amazing home runs to right field at Dodger Stadium. His great season was one of the most incredible walk-years I have ever seen as he commanded a huge free agent deal. Unfortunately for Mariners fans they never saw the same player up north.

Can you say performance-enhancing drugs? I sure can. There is no other way to describe the drastic decline in Beltre’s game from 2004 to 2005. I know the Mariner fans up at Safeco sure wished he would have kept taking the same stuff in 2005 that he took in 2004. His 2005 numbers? .255 batting average, 19 homers and 87 RBIs. Yikes!

I hope the Red Sox fans are not expecting any big offensive numbers from their new third sacker in 2010. The club really had no choice, however after the Mike Lowell trade with the Rangers was nullified due to his injury. Beltre will bring his gold glove to Fenway (the lack of steroids will not hurt his defense) but not much else. This will be another contract year for him as he can leave and test the free-agent waters again in 2011. Maybe the Red Sox fans will get lucky and he will play out of his mind for a big contract. Or maybe not.

As for the Swingin’ A’s? They CAN’T think that Eric Chavez will be their guy on opening day can they? Stay tuned.