David Ortiz returns to Sox and is bullish on signing of J.D. Martinez

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A familiar face returned to jetBlue Park just as the Red Sox were about to start their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For the first time in two years, David Ortiz returned to the Red Sox' spring training home. Ortiz, who retired after 2016, did not make an appearance at all last spring. On Wednesday, he spent much of the game in uniform, and in the dugout, during the Sox' 4-3 win over the Pirates.

"I'll be here for a few days, just to see how things work,'' said Ortiz. "I'll be out there, just watching. We have a coaching staff here in charge of doing their thing. But I played a long time and experience goes a long way in this game. It's basically sharing my experience with guys; I don't want to be in no one's way. But the guys always have questions and I'm always down with whatever they have and be there for them.''

Ortiz said "it felt kind of weird being in the dugout.'' He plans on being in camp through Sunday.

"I talked to David two or three weeks ago in Miami,'' said manager Alex Cora. "I told him, 'Hey, whenever you want to come here, don't feel like you're stepping on anybody's toes. You're a big part of what we're trying to accomplish.' We know how big he is in the history of this franchise. So, (I told him), 'Whenever you want to come, come.' The message we're trying to get to the players doesn't have to go through the coaching staff. Other guys can help us do that.''

Ortiz, who is listed as a special assistant with the team, is unsure how much he'll be around the team during the season, or, for that matter, what his role might be.

"Down the road, they know I'm always pretty busy doing things,'' Ortiz said. "But I'm planning on slowing down a little bit this summer. There's a lot of things (the organization) has approached me with. Whatever I can do to help this ballclub with the players is going to happen. We're going to start sharing some ideas at some point, and go from there.''

Not surprisingly, Ortiz was bullish on the addition of J.D. Martinez, who gives the Sox the bat they were missing after Ortiz retired.

"That was great, man,'' Ortiz said. "We needed that thunder. You guys know how I feel about thunder in the middle of the lineup. If you want to compete in this division, you have to do it. You saw how the Yankees loaded up -- those guys aren't playing games. So we need to try to keep up with that offense and I know we're capable of (doing that). We've got good hitters. We've got an older Mookie Betts, an older (Xander) Bogaerts, now J.D., and a healthy Hanley (Ramirez). We're going to be fine.''

In addition to praising Martinez's power, Ortiz sees some similarities between his career and Martinez's. Ortiz was non-tendered by the Minnesota Twins in his mid-20s while Martinez was designated for assignment by the Houston Astros at roughly the same age.

"His career has basically been like mine,'' Ortiz said. "You go from being an underdog to becoming a superstar, and you never forget where you come from. I believe in that type of player. That player is going to come in and not take things for granted and give their best. You go through all of that, trust me -- you're going to try to do something every time you're in uniform.''