With the season near its end, we all know about the decisions the Red Sox will face this offseason. Victor Martinez, Adrian Beltre, and David Ortiz are all free agents. Those three players compile most of the offense on this team. How are they going to balance things out this offseason?

 Well, they have several options. Option one will never happen; Re-sign Beltre to the four year deal he is looking for. Why can't this happen? Well, for one, Beltre is 32 years old and having arguably his career year. Also, last time he signed a big deal after a contract year was with Seattle, where he was contstanly hurt and inconsistent. And probaly the most important fact of all, he blocks too many players. In the farm system, you have three real good 1B/3B players. They are Lars Anderson, Will Middlebrooks, and Anthony Rizzo.  All three guys have had good seasons and are high ranked prospects. You do not want to block that signing a 33 year old with two good seasons.

Another situations is Victor Martinez. They have already offered him a two year deal, with Victor laughed at and rightfully so. Victor has been nothing but great since he came over from Cleveland, and I think he is a must sign. The Red Sox continue to see him as a 1B/DH in the future, but who cares? Sign him to whatever he wants, and if he ends up at 1B or DH, you have Ryan Lavarnway and Luis Exposito waiting in the wings anyways. Martinez will get a lot of interest as a catcher in other markets, so why wouldn't the Red Sox just offer him what he wants? I am sure the Yankees will not be in on Martinez, seeing their catching depth, but the teams that poetentially worry me are Detroit, Anaheim, and the Mets.

David Ortiz may be the most intrigueing of them all. Ortiz has started slow the last two seasons, but got it going late. That is not a terrific trend, but the Red Sox may have to deal with it. With the likely departure of Beltre, they will still need a bat in the middle of the lineup. The safest option may be Ortiz, a guy you already know what he is going to do. Sure, $12.5 mm is a lot, but if you need that bat, you take it.

A few options with what they could do here; NOT Adrian Gonzalez. Everybody loves the guy, and I don't bame them. But do you relize that they will have to give up prospects and then re-sign him to Mark Teixiera money? Sure, he would be a great addition to the team. But not at that price tag. If you really want him, wait until he is a free agent and pay him.

An option I kinda liked was Carlos Pena. For one season, move Youk to third and have Pena as a bridge guy. He is going to be a power threat and not cost too much, with teams preparing for the big first base free agent class the next season. Pena can be the bridge to Rizzo, which I have heard he could be in the MLB next season. Pena can be the bridge while being a productive player.

There are no options when it comes to Victor Martinez. Sign him, or lose all production from that position. But, maybe they could get offense somewhere else. The big names are Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford. Personaly, I love Crawford, but do not see him signing here. Werth, I think, could add some punch in the lineup if Victor does not resign. Both of them together would be nice, but something tells me only one or the other would happen.