Are the Red Sox Interested in Beltran... as a DH?

I keep reading about how the Boston Red Sox are "favorites" to land Carlos Beltran.

There seems to be a large number of people that believe that Beltran would be a fit for Boston and that he could solve their right field issues. After all, he is a switch hitting, high OPS guy with plus power. What is there not to like about him?

The Red Sox lineup is filled with left handed batters and Beltran would offer the option of batting from either side of the plate. His splits are not too different regardless of which side of the plate he bats from (slight edge to the left side of the plate.) He is a 3 time gold glove winner, 6 time all-star, won the rookie of the year in 1999 and has a couple of silver slugger awards on his resume. In other words, the man is a well decorated outfielder.

Here's the catch, he's 34 years old and is coming off his first healthy season in 3 years. He is a bit of an injury concern if he is playing the outfield on a daily basis.

But what if he isn't?

From what I am hearing the Red Sox have an idea on what David Ortiz's market value is. Though GM Ben Cherington has alluded to ongoing conversations with Ortiz, one would think that the sides are at odds in either compensation or years. The fact of the matter is, Ortiz is 35 years old and can DH, that's it.

It is true that in 2011 Ortiz had another fine season. He played in 146 games, knocked in 29 home runs, scored 84 runs, knocked in 96 while batting .309. His on-base percentage was .398 and his slugging percentage was .554, giving a fantastic OPS of .953. This was accomplished for $12.5million and again, he only DH'd.

Carlos Beltran on the other hand also had a fine season. He played in 142 games, knocked in 22 home runs, scored 78 runs, drove in 84 while batting an even .300. His on-base percentage was .385 while his slugging percentage was .525 giving him an OPS of .910. True, he made $19.3million in 2011, but it was the final year on a lucrative contract he signed back in 2005.

I don't believe Carlos Beltran is looking to "cash in" once again, as I think he is smart enough to know that he doesn't merit another large contract after 3 of the last 4 seasons were injury plagued. What he showed in 2011 is that he still has the ability to play baseball every day and perform well.

I believe Beltran will be looking for the same type of contract that David Ortiz is looking for, both in monetary value as well as years. Though I have heard some ludicrous claims that Beltran will be looking for $18million annually, which, will never happen, I think he is probably in the $12-14million range, right about where Ortiz is now.

The question that begs to be answered by the Red Sox brass is: Are the Red Sox in on Beltran to replace David Ortiz with a more rounded player? Beltran played for six and a half years in New York for the Mets and performed admirably. He was then thrust into a playoff rush in San Francisco where he absolutely crushed it in 44 games batting .323, with an OBP of .369 and a SLG of .551 for an OPS of .920.

I could see the Sox pulling the trigger on Beltran and letting Ortiz walk. This organization needs a bit of a face lift, and sadly that could mean the end of Ortiz's stay in Boston.