O Come All Ye Padres

Let me start this Wednesday Hump Day post bluntly...Adrian Gonzalez ain't going to come cheaply but he is by far the best solution for the Beltre-less Boston Red Sox. Putting Adrian at his Gold Glove position, first base, and sliding the versatile Kevin Youkilis over to the hot corner replaces the power void left by the departure of Adrian Beltre. Gonzalez is signed to the Padres though next season for a paltry $6.2 million per year. Wow, will his salary go through the roof! Last year he hit .298 with a .393 on-base percentage, 31 home runs and 101 RBIs. Staggering numbers. It is said by his agent, John Boggs, that Gonzalez will be seeking a contract much like Mark Teixeira's, about eight years for (gulp) $180 million. I don't know if Boston has ever paid such a sum for ANYONE (they haven't) but Adrian is just too perfect a fit to be ignored. Here's Boggs...

“It’s a situation where Jed and the Padres obviously know his value. The question is, what are we going to seek. We’re going to seek market value for Adrian Gonzalez. Obviously, I don’t think the Padres will dedicate that much of their salary structure to one player.’’

And here's the Padres GM, who is also a friend of Theo Epstein, with some of his thoughts...

“All along, I felt like the most likely thing is that we’re going to have him as our first baseman and No. 3 hitter next year, and that’s a great thing. If something comes up that I feel like is absolutely in the best interests of the franchise, we have to talk about it, but my expectation is that we try to do even better than 90 wins next year and we bring back our first baseman and see how that goes.’’

Let me put it another way... as the Godfather said, the Red Sox will have to make San Diego "an offer they can't refuse." Can they do it? Monetarily, yes, oh yes. Do they want to? Let me put it this way. If they want another world championship in this, the second decade of the 21st centutry, they'd better think long and hard about this one.

What do you think about Gonzalez? Please leave a comment and I'll answer every one. Should the Sox shell out all that money? Do you agree Gonzalez, along with Teixeira and Youkilis, are the best first baggers out there? I'd love to know. Please click on this post's title for more on the Sox and as always, BE WELL. See ya.