David Ortiz made some innocuous comments about fellow players at the All-Star Game, and they may land him in hot water with the league.
Ortiz called for Blue Jays DH Edwin Encarnacion to take his role in Boston after he retires, and also voiced his hope that Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez eventually joins the Red Sox.
“The Red Sox know that they need to reinforce the middle of the lineup,” Ortiz said Wednesday, via CBS Boston. “And sorry Blue Jays, but who better than Encarnacion to do that?”
“He has incredible stuff,” Ortiz added of Fernandez. “I thought he was gonna end up playing with me this year. I mean, you never know. I want him in my starting rotation. I mean, we need a little bit of help and hopefully that happens at some point, who knows?”
Ortiz likely meant no harm by these remarks, but they constitute tampering under MLB rules, and the league will likely be investigating.
Major League Baseball is expected to look into David Ortiz's comments re. Edwin Encarnacion. Players subject to tampering rules as r execs.
— Jeff Blair (@SNJeffBlair) July 14, 2016
It’s hard to see much coming of this, but it’s a reminder to players to be careful talking about other contracted players. Ortiz definitely knows Encarnacion’s contract situation, though. It may not really be tampering, but he’s more than happy to put the thought in his head.
