Ortiz: Turning down $25M to play another year would be hard

With an OPS firmly in four-digit territory as June approaches, his knack for late-game heroics as strong as ever, Boston Red Sox icon David Ortiz - the big-bellied, homer-smashing, personified middle finger to baseball's aging curve - continues to inspire hope that he might come back for another summer in the sun in 2017.

Still, the beloved 40-year-old remains adamant this will be his last year playing baseball.

"I'm happy with the decision that I made," Ortiz told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, "and my feet are happy with the decision that I made, and my wife is happy with the decision that I made. I've got to wait until next year when I ain't doing (expletive) to see how it's gonna hit home. Because I'm not gonna lie to you. I don't know. I think I played enough baseball."

Fair enough. So, Papi, you wouldn't defer your retirement plans if, say, the Red Sox came to you and offered $25 million, right?

"Hopefully," Ortiz said, "nobody comes to me and offers $25 million, either."

Um, care to elaborate?

"I don't even want to talk about it," Ortiz said. "Like I said, I'm good with the decision that I made right now. But would you leave $25 million on the table? I don't want nobody to offer me that."

The problem is, the Red Sox just might. Though the club has a $10-million option on Ortiz for 2017 - ostensibly his first season as a retiree - what's stopping president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski from approaching the nine-time All-Star to renegotiate? With marginal wins going for about $8 million apiece on the open market these days, Ortiz - who, despite not playing a position, is on pace for a 7-WAR season in 2016 - might actually be a discount at $25 million, especially if he continues to age like a fine wine.

Ortiz admitted his body isn't nearly as equipped to handle the rigors of an 162-game schedule as it was in the past - "I feel like (expletive)" the day after traveling, he said - but he also recognizes that he's a better hitter than he was at age 30.

"All people talk about is age, age, age, age," Ortiz said. "Bro, listen. I'm a better hitter now than what I was (expletive) 10 years ago. You know why? Because now I set pitchers up. My mind doesn't get any confusion. I used to get confused. I'm gonna sit on a slider. Fastball. Boom! Oh, (expletive). Why'd I take that fastball? My whole program I used to change because of that pitch. Now, I decide I'm gonna sit on a slider. Fastball. I don't care. Fastball. I don't care. Breaking ball. I don't care. Changeup. I don't care. Slider. Here it is."