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Red Sox keeping ‘Papi’ – Metro US

Red Sox keeping ‘Papi’

David Ortiz isn’t going anywhere — for one year, at least.

The Red Sox picked up a $12.5 million team option on their DH Thursday, ending speculation that Ortiz could hit the free-agent market — or land a big-money extension.

Ortiz, 34, rebounded from a down year in 2009 with one of the top seasons in the AL in 2010. He broke the 30-HR (32) and 100-RBI (102) barriers for the first time since 2007, while putting up a .899 OPS.

“David did express an interest in a multi-year deal to us, as well as publicly,”?GM Theo Epstein told reporters. “We explored that. But we couldn’t find anything that made as much sense as the one-year commitment. In the end, David understands this outcome.”

Adrian Beltre, meanwhile, is a free agent after declining his option.