David Ortiz to the Yankees? Only if Red Sox star is willing to play for cheap says baseball insider

BY MARK FEINSAND DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER David Ortiz in pinstripes? It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Then again, it was once impossible to imagine Wade Boggs wearing a Yankee uniform, and even more difficult to picture Johnny Damon cutting his hair and slipping on a navy cap with the interlocking NY.

As unlikely as an Ortiz-Yankees marriage would appear to be, it's not entirely out of the question. Jesus Montero is expected to see a bulk of the at-bats as the designated hitter next year (unless the Yankees decide to deal him for a pitcher and pursue, say, Prince Fielder), while Alex Rodriguez will likely see a number of games there, too. With no apparent need for a DH, the Yankees don't appear to have any room for Ortiz, who hit .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBI in 2011.

But according to one baseball insider, the Bombers could show interest in Big Papi if the aging star were to accept a bench role and a low-base salary such as the $1.5-$2 million contracts they gave Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones last winter.

"They have enough DH types," the insider said. "At the numbers he's making, it wouldn't be a fit. If he wanted to sign for a million or two, it may be worth pursuing."

Ortiz, who turns 36 next month, just finished up a five-year, $64.5 million contract with the Red Sox, setting the slugger on the free-agent market for the first time since 2002. It's highly unlikely that he would accept a bargain-basement contract or a diminished role, making a deal with the Yankees equally improbable.

This isn't the first time the Yankees have been linked to Ortiz during a free-agent period. Nearly nine years ago, George Steinbrenner pushed Brian Cashman to sign Ortiz, who had been released by the Twins.

Cashman resisted The Boss's wishes, since the Yankees were already set at both first base and designated hitter with Nick Johnson and Jason Giambi. Ortiz - who set career highs in 2002 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI - signed with the Red Sox, emerging as one of baseball's most dangerous bats over the next five years.

Ortiz's bat has terrorized the Yankees for much of the past eight seasons, most notably in 2004, when he hit .387 with three home runs, 11 RBI and a .742 slugging percentage in Boston's historic ALCS comeback. His numbers took a hit in 2008-09, leading many to write him off as washed up. But Ortiz rebounded with a solid season in 2010, then posted another one this year, though his subpar September - he drove in only eight runs while slugging just .372 - helped contribute to Boston's month-long collapse.

The Yankees have not suggested publicly or privately that they plan to pursue Ortiz this winter, but Ortiz made news Wednesday night during an interview with ESPN, telling the network that he's over the "drama" that has engulfed the Red Sox while hinting that he wouldn't be averse to the idea of joining the rival Yankees. Whether or not the Yankees have any interest remains to be seen, but Ortiz certainly made it sound as though he won't be returning to Boston next season.

"There's too much drama," Ortiz said, referring to the recent departures of Terry Francona and Theo Epstein from Boston. "I have been thinking about a lot of things. I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year." Asked whether he would consider a move to the other side of baseball's best rivalry, Ortiz didn't do anything to squash the idea. "That's something that I gotta think about," Ortiz said. "Who doesn't want to be involved with a good organization that everything goes down the right way?"

Ortiz pointed to the lack of drama following the Yankees' first-round exit against the Tigers as a difference between the Bombers and BoSox. "They lost just like we did; they just went to the first round of the playoffs," Ortiz said. "I ain't heard nobody coming out killing everybody just because they lost."