Scouts Inc. baseball analyst Keith Law was ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike show Wednesday morning and had this to say about struggling Red Sox slugger David Ortiz:

“You saw last year that his bat speed was starting to slip. And now it looks at this point it’s all but gone. He is getting beaten within the strike zone on average stuff. You can throw 90-92 [miles per hour] right by him within the strike zone. A couple of years ago that is a pitch he absolutely murdered.

“You’re going to see [Ortiz] play less and you’re going to see the [Red Sox] probably end up releasing him whenever they do acquire someone from outside the organization. Expect them to be aggressive in June and July to find that additional bat ... when they do acquire someone else [Ortiz] is the first guy for them to kick off the roster at this point because I don’t think it’s that likely to turn around.

“Even when he was a little better in the second half last year you could still see him getting beaten on pitches that a couple of years earlier would have had no trouble with. I think you finally see the decline taken right over the cliff at this point. I think there is very little chance for a recovery."