MINNEAPOLIS — The Red Sox offense has been clicking on all cylinders, save one. So now that faulty piece has been moved off to the side, in the hope that it won't impact the operation quite as much.

David Ortiz, long the key cog that made the entire machine run, was been dropped from third to sixth in the batting order Tuesday night, a formal acknowledgement that, right now, the team is better off with someone else coming up in those important spots.

"It's not as pronounced, when somebody's hitting a little lower in the order, if they don't get hits," manager Terry Francona said in explaining his reasoning.

J.D. Drew, also a lefty, switched spots with Ortiz and hit third.

Ortiz could stay lower in the order for some time, even if he responds well to the move and starts hitting. Eventually, however, the team wants him back up there.

"The goal is not, like tomorrow, to get him back to number 3," said Francona. "I actually think, when he's swinging the bat, and he's hitting third, that we're a better team. All things being equal, I think we're a better team. They're not equal right now."

Ortiz declined to speak to the media before the game. He sat at a table in the clubhouse, playing cards with Julio Lugo, and maintained that he didn't even know where he was hitting until told by reporters.

Dropping a slumping slugger is certainly not without precedent, and it is a move that can be undone quickly and easily — but at the same time, it is one not soon forgotten. When Alex Rodriguez' career in the clutch is discussed, it is often noted that Joe Torre dropped him to eighth against the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 playoffs.

Francona tread lightly with his slugger, making sure to emphasize to him that he is still valued.

"We've talked a lot. I've talked to David in New York — there's probably not a day goes by that we don't talk," Francona said. "I want to make sure he understands the respect we have for what he's done, and what we think he's going to do. This does not change that. Sometimes, you've got to remind people of that."

Many have called for this move for some time, with Ortiz' struggles easily apparent. He has been slow to catch up with fastballs, and fooled by breaking balls — and that adds up to a lot of swings and misses. Ortiz entered Tuesday night's game hitting .195 with 1 home run and 18 RBI.

"If I am to be accused of being slow on the trigger, I can live with that," Francona said.

Ortiz got a full series off against Seattle May 15 to May 17, in the hope that would shake him out of his funk. He hit his first home run, but did little else. Francona said he was weighing something then, but didn't want to do it last week at Fenway Park, in front of the home fans.

"I just didn't think it was in his best interest to do it at home, against the Mets," said Francona. "To me, that's not helping. That's almost placing blame on somebody. I'm not going to do that. I don't want to do that. I wouldn't do that. I wanted to wait until we got on the road."

Moving Ortiz to sixth was relatively easy, because it simply swaps him with Drew and keeps him, at least, at the edge of the order's middle.

"Quite frankly, I don't want to just shove him down in the eight hole," said Francona. "That's almost like placing blame. I just don't want to do that. I want to help him, or at least not be a hindrance, to him getting hot."

But Drew will not necessarily stay at the third spot for long. With this series and the next, at Toronto, being played on the unforgiving surfaces of indoor domed stadiums, more players will likely be getting days off than usual. That could mean consistent change.

"I can see our lineup being a little fluid for a while," Francona said. "I can see us moving around a little here. [Kevin Youkilis] could hit third, we could hit [Dustin Pedroia] third. There's a lot of things we could do, so I don't want to get too philosophical on today's lineup, because things could change."

dbarbari@projo.com