The Boston Red Sox will prioritize the contract extension of veteran hitter David Ortiz this spring, said its president Larry Lucchino on Friday.
Ortiz's agent Fern Cuza and officials of the Red Sox met a day earlier to discuss the star's contract extension and the head honcho of the team expressed hopes that talks will prosper and eventually find a way to keep Ortiz in the team for a longer time.
ESPN.com quoted Lucchino who said: "Obviously, we're not going to talk about the negotiations in any public way, but we did have a chance to see David and have a conversation with him. But other than that we're going to give it the priority it deserves."
Ortiz wants a one-year extension that will pay him $15 million. He currently has a two-year pact worth $30 million that will expire by the end of the 2014 season. Lucchino is the third Red Sox official to express hope that the team will come into an agreement with Ortiz, after owner John Henry and general manager Ben Cherington.
The Red Sox president added: "We want it to happen. We want him to be a guy who, essentially came in with us even though it was 2003, our second year, and stayed with us for the rest of his career."
He continued: "I think it's a great thing. I know it's a great thing for us. I think it's a great thing for David and it would be a great thing for baseball and Red Sox fans. He feels connected. He's committed. He's certainly one of the most important faces in baseball, as well as for the franchise, so we're eager to resolve something if it can be done."
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