"Imagine Adrian Gonzalez playing right field for the Red Sox.

It isn't so farfetched.

Gonzalez dabbled as an outfielder in winter ball in 2005 in an attempt to make himself more valuable to the Texas Rangers, who already had Mark Teixeira at first base. Late in the '05 season, with the Rangers out of contention, Gonzalez made his first and only major league start in right field, catching three fly balls and committing one error.

And although he hasn't played in the outfield since, Gonzalez has told manager Terry Francona that he would be open to a return if it means giving designated hitter David Ortiz a few starts at first base during an upcoming stretch of nine consecutive interleague games in National League ballparks.

"I wouldn't say it's willingness. It's the fact that I've done it before," Gonzalez said. "If I was approached on it, if Tito wanted to do that for a couple of games, I'd be OK with it. I know I'm not an outfielder, but if it meant to get Papi in the game, it's definitely something I would do."

Francona said he hasn't decided if he is willing to take Gonzalez up on the offer, although he noted that a few of the NL ballparks in which the Red Sox will be playing, namely those in Philadelphia and Houston, have smaller right fields.

It's unlikely Francona would even consider the idea if both Gonzalez and Ortiz weren't on offensive tears. Including his three-hit, three-RBI performance in last night's 14-5 win over the San Diego Padres, Gonzalez leads the majors in hitting (.353) and RBI (67), while Ortiz is batting .323 with a team-leading 17 home runs.

Ortiz worked a 14-pitch at-bat in the first inning against Padres starter Wade LeBlanc and delivered an RBI single. It was the longest at-bat of Ortiz' career, beating three 12-pitch plate appearances, and featured six straight foul balls on full-count pitches."