Boston Sports Then and Now

Alex Gonzalez gave the Sox reliable defense and a little pop in his bat.

If I told you that the Red Sox and A-Gon were making some headlines in the Hot Stove column, your eyes would more than likely light up, thinking that the “A-Gon” that I was referring to was Adrian Gonzalez.

I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but this one’s about the other A-Gon.

On Sunday, the Globe’s Tony Massarotti shared that the Red Sox have declined the $6 million option that remained on Alex Gonzalez’s 3-year, $14 million contact that the shortstop signed with the Cincinnati Reds back in 2007.

Now, more often than not, a player whose option is declined by the team in which he was previously under contract with does not return. However, the Red Sox have specified their interest in bringing Gonzalez back in a Red Sox uniform, just not for $6 million.

FanGraphs listed Gonzalez’s 2009 production value as being $2.4 million, while he was being paid $5.38 million. This past winter, the New York Mets signed Alex Cora to a one-year deal worth $2 million. Bringing back Gonzalez on a deal similar to this seems reasonable, as they are virtually the same mold of baseball player. Solid defense, and we’ll take the offense when we can get it.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to offer Gonzalez a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with some escalators based off of numbers of plate appearances or games played that could boost the deal to around $3 million. If I were Theo, that’s what I would do, because as of right now, the Red Sox do not have a shortstop that they can count on to be considered a “starter” now that Gonzalez is currently not on the Red Sox roster.

While Gonzalez’s offense isn’t exactly his forte, his numbers were a pleasant

A-Gon is saying goodbye to Boston for the second time.

surprise for the Red Sox in 2009. In 44 games for Boston, the shortstop hit .284 with 10 doubles, 5 HR and 15 RBI with a .769 OPS. His defense was as advertised, as the 32-year-old committed just one error in 159 chances.

I can almost guarantee that the Red Sox will make him an offer to return, but I cannot guarantee that he will accept it. He might feel that he can make more elsewhere, which he may be right. So, whether or not he returns to Boston will be solely up to him, because certainly the Red Sox will make an attempt to keep his services here in Boston.

Jared Carrabis is a contributing blogger for Boston Sports Then and Now. Make sure to check out his site, Sox Space News and his latest book, One Fan’s Story: If This Hat Could Talk.