Outfielder J.D. Martinez will not opt out of his contract with the Red Sox, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The 32-year-old Martinez had the option of collecting a $2.5MM buyout to forgo the remaining three years and $62.5MM on his contract but will instead once again serve as Boston’s primary designated hitter in 2020.
Martinez, signed to a five-year, $110MM contract prior to the 2018 season, enjoyed a career-year with in the first season of that deal, hitting .330/.402/.629 with 43 home runs. He followed that up with a terrific .304/.383/.557 slash through 657 trips to the plate.
That excellence at least created the possibility of Martinez opting out, but the market was also a poor one for Martinez, given the lack of contending clubs (or hopeful contenders) with an opening at designated hitter. The Astros (Yordan Alvarez), Angels (Albert Pujols/Shohei Ohtani) and Twins (Nelson Cruz), for instance, all have solidified options there. The Yankees have a number of options to rotate through their DH slot (Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Luke Voit, Mike Ford and Greg Bird among them). Other clubs, including the Rays, Indians and incumbent Red Sox all face varying degrees of payroll issues. National League teams, surely, would be reluctant to issue a multi-year pact to a player with such defensive limitations.
Beyond the clearly sub-optimal market factors, Martinez will have another bite at the free-agent apple next year via a second opt-out provision in the aforementioned five-year deal. He’ll now earn $23.75MM in 2020 before having the opportunity to test free agency again next winter when he’ll have two years and $38.75MM remaining on his contract.
The decision has significant long-term ramifications for the team as well. Already, there have been rumors about the Red Sox shopping 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts this winter as he heads into his final season of club control. Some of that is tied to the fact that the Betts has, to this point, insisted upon testing the free-agent market rather than explore a potential extension, but Boston’s luxury tax situation is also a clear factor. The Red Sox are currently $28MM over the luxury tax threshold, placing them firmly into the second tier of penalties. Had Martinez opted out of his deal, they’d have seen $22MM subtracted from that luxury ledger, but they’ll now likely search for alternative means of reducing their levels of penalization.
How lame
Lame? This was a business decision. Would you give up millions just to help out a team’s front office?
My hope is he hits the IL for 60 days so the sox can both opt out of his deal for 2021 and saddle him with a QO destroying his market
You seem like a really nice person…
You are awful
What? How badly do you hate the RS?
It’s limited:
2021 and 2022 seasons become mutual options if Martinez has a Lisfranc injury or complication to his right foot causing him to be:
1) on the disabled list for 60 days or more in previous season, or
2) on the disabled list for 10 days or more in the previous season and 120 days or more in the two previous seasons combined, or
3) on the disabled list at the end of the previous season and found not able to play at the start of the next season
Wouldn’t he just accept the qualifying offer in that situation?
It’s Very limited:
2021 and 2022 seasons become mutual options if Martinez has a Lisfranc injury or complication to his right foot causing him to be:
1) on the disabled list for 60 days or more in previous season, or
2) on the disabled list for 10 days or more in the previous season and 120 days or more in the two previous seasons combined, or
3) on the disabled list at the end of the previous season and found not able to play at the start of the next season
It’s those Atlanta Sox fans who are especially salty. Put the South into Southie
What do you have against Martinez?
Strange thing is you can pretty much count on 300/35/100 as your guaranteed base starting point before the season begins and everyone is pizzing and moaning about him staying.
Don’t forget what the team looked like the year after #34 retired.
Now at least the team can start to make decisions. Not sure how true the Texas rumors are but they need to explore it before the winter meetings.
More limited than that. Those provisions only apply if the injury is to his right foot. If he hurts his back or anything else the options remain as player options.
Hahaa!!
if i was a red sox fan, i’d have been praying for JD to opt out. because only an idiot would rather have him than betts. JD locked himself in which may be the nail in the coffin for the red sux being able to keep Mookie, one of the best players in baseball.
So I Guess @RedSoxStats & @RedSoxPayroll are Idiots for wanting to retain JD Than letting him walk for a 4th Round Pick.
You’re the Idiot
He is a Sox fan, he doesn’t hate them. He wants to free up cash but what he is saying is ridiculous and cold.
Why would he accept a QO and make $5 million less than he is now? He has an opt out clause next year too.
Price is leaving. Bank on that
Or since hes getting paid hope he has a monster season.
the issue isn’t JD vs a 4th round pick. the issue is JD vs Mookie. and again, anyone who chooses JD over Mookie is, yes, and IDIOT. got it?
He didn’t do it to help out the front office. He did it for his own good because he wasn’t going to get 3 years $62.5M from another team if his life depended on it!
He did it b/c he had that option that his agent negotiated. You sound salty b/c you don’t have the same options in your life.
Imagine poster sitting in his basement with his list of grievances like a George Costanza, waving a teeny little flag each time he’s achieved rightful vengeance
Why? Terrible market for DH, especially >30.
How lame that your dad didn’t nut into a sock instead of his sister
No cause for that. Just bad form and a waste of space.
Seriously, Mo?
In case you haven’t learned yet, Mo stands on a pedestal much higher than us. I have seen more comments from Mo telling people why they’re a bad person than actual baseball related comments.
Why are fans so mad at him? He has lived up to his contract and played very well. Even helped them to the WS. Boston fans have really been spoiled the last 15 years
I’m not sure it’s that Sox fans don’t like him. I personally love the guy. Most people tend to believe the Sox will keep one of him or Mookie. I personally would rather keep JD and dangle Mookie who is going to FA anyway. If someone says they don’t want JD in their lineup, they’re either jealous or dumb.
Makes the market for Schwarburger even smaller……
I’m not surprised. The landing spots for more money were almost non-existent.
Especially for a primary DH and an average outfielder. But I am happy he is coming back next year. He will be a great hitting coach after he retires
Below avg outfielder
The question is will he flop next year and that is why he didn’t opt out.
What? He doesn’t opt out under the assumption that he thinks he’ll flop?
I don’t think anyone should go forward assuming JDM will flop this year, least of all JDM himself. I’m sure he doesn’t think he’ll flop. I’m sure that was not his reason for opting out. His reason is that he is getting close to $24MM this year from the Sox, which is pretty much exactly what he’s worth. Opting out would put him at risk of having to accept less with little chance of getting more, mainly because the market for his services is painfully small. Next year his salary drops to $20MM. If he has a good year, then he can opt out and look for $22-$24MM again, maybe even $25MM. The question is how many years could he get, since he’ll be 33 then, whether he could get an extra year or two on top of the two he would still be owed by the Sox.
Why would you expect him to flop? He’s a pretty good hitter, just so you know.
That’s pretty cute. If he flops, it’s out of the blue since Martinez has been one of the best hitters in the league over the last 6 seasons and will be playing the 2021 year at age 32. Not like he’s some wild hacker either for a big time power guy, he’s pretty selective.
If he thought he was in line for a down year next year, he would have opted out now in the hope of getting a good contract while his value is high.
Instead, he’s exercised his option, and may hit FA next year. If he has a good 2020, he’s likely to opt out because all he has to do is exceed 2/38 , which should be easy for a hitter of his caliber.
If he works on 1B and becomes a legit option there, then his market will change dramatically. I also suspect the Sox would give him 1B reps if it helped them convince him to opt out.
Regardless of production, the Sox are way over loaded with contracts.
YAY!!!!
Red Sox fans are you happy with this or nah?
Glad he is coming back. Great stick, better teammate.
Bingo… got to agree, he didn’t have as good a year, but still a very good year and he has earned it…. can’t same the same for the SP
I was going to be happy in either case. I wouldn’t mind a retool and trading a couple guys, but happy to have JD back.
Perhaps he can be a trade deadline move? But most of the guys on this site were correct and it seems that after some thought and study Scott Boras agreed it would be best to advise JD to stay put this winter..
I’m glad he’s coming back. Great hitter, but this now means Mookie’s days are numbered. I’d soooo hate to see Mookie go, but he’s not worth Trout money imo…
Agree with you Nick. Mookie’s great but not worth Trout money. Only wish Price was gone. Maybe I’m alone but he’s not been consistently good enough given his contract. But if Mookie is gone, send him to the NL
He’s worth it. But only because Trout is worth more than he got.
Call up Padres! They are hurting for SP and have some prospects to deal. Red Sox will eat at least 60% of his remaining contract though.
Chris Sale says hi
If the Red Sox are 60% of that remaining contract that would make price cost what 12.4 million per year? You better have some really good prospects for that to happen. Even the Subpar Price has been worth way more then 12.4 million a year and would be a steal for a team at that level. If the Red Sox did that they would be looking a heavy prospect haul in return.
The fact that JD did not opt out makes it more likely they will hold onto Mookie. They have no leverage in trade negotiations so unless they take back another bad contract or a package of B prospects then they will have to hold onto him.
They may be better off waiting until the trade deadline to get a decent return for Mookie.
I’m happy, mainly so I don’t have to burn my jersey. On a more serious note, I do enjoy watching him and he’s one of the best hitters a young guy can hope to be teammate with. Sometimes the Red Sox broadcasters call him “The third hitting coach”
Disappointed.
Wished he would’ve left, doubt anyone would give anything of value for him.
The money is needed elsewhere and he doesn’t add enough value to the team to justify his contract.
Add enough value? He’s the best hitter on the team.
Some people cut off the value of a DH at $20MM. Or less. I think JDM is worth the $24MM he’ll get this year, but maybe not for the Red Sox. Others will say that’s a misallocation of resources, especially if the team is reorganizing and diving from $240MM to $208MM. Is DH worth 12% of the team’s payroll at this stage of re-development? That’s the question.
This clown is delusional. I don’t even think he watches baseball
There’s an argument to be made DH is over-penalized in the WAR positional adjustment. That said I think at this stage the Sox would prefer lesser production at a much lower cost but you could say the same for much of the rotation as well.
I’m still baffled as to why ownership signed off on Eovaldi if payroll was going to such an issue. That said I think they were expecting some kind of postseason revenue as well.
Interesting take. What’s your take on Mookie and the fact that he’ll probably have to go now?
I want him gone. He’s not half the player Trout is, but he wants around $30M a year. When he loses his legs he’ll be an average player. He’s too small to keep up to a large contract.
Thanks for letting how little about baseball you know.
I think, and thought, independent of whether JD stayed or left that the best outcome for the team is trading Mookie IF the right deal is there.
Mookie’s business first approach means the sox have the same chance of signing him in FA no matter where he plays in 2020.
Question is, what’s worth more? 1 year of mookie on a bat-heavy team that is actually worse off pitching wise than last year. You’ve got Sale coming in having had an injection to hopefully heal, price off surgery, the fragile eovaldi coming back to ramp up off another cleanout, and porcello the dependable if unspectacular a FA needing replacement. And a bullpen that needs help just as bad as last year.
All while coupling incteasing Arb costs with a ownership request to decrease payroll.
If you get serviceable but not elite replacement for mookie, and a mlb ready replacement for JBJ, plus a couple prospects… well, maybe buy buy 1 or 2 $3-7mil relievers you are more competitive than having mookie and jd.
You’re stuck with JD. Now trade a bat with best return (Mookie) to try to help your gaping holes. Offense wasn’t a problem. Pitching was.
Yeah nobody wants Martinez on that deal, since he can’t field much at all.
The Red Sox did when they signed the deal.
They were at a different stage of development then. They were at win now. Now they are trying to maneuver a short reorganization stage.
I am happy. He is a great hitter and would be tough to replace.
Even though JD opted in, the Sox can still trade him. They may have to eat a little money, but he should be movable. He has declined two years in a row and various key stats indicate that his age is catching up with him. He is not even an average outfielder, he needs to go. Even if they have to eat $6-$7 million, it would be worth it to get rid of him as he keep regressing.
I think they’d have to eat more than that to move him.
He has an option after 2020, they don’t need to eat anything on JD’s Contract.
After the 2020 season he makes just over 19 Million per year in 2021 & 2022
He hasn’t declined two years in a row. Hos stats in 2017 were padded by playing in Arizona for part of the year. If you compare 2018 to what he did in Detroit in 2017 he was actually better in 2018. .001 difference in SLG%, but his OBP 14 points better in 18. His OPS+ was better in 18 than his overall OPS+ in 2016 and better than both his time in Det and Ari.
Anyone not happy is not a Red Sox fan. He’s regarded as a player-coach by his team mates, is a fantastic role model, with great work habits, and his OPS was over .900. What’s not to like?
I must say, readers here embarrassed themselves by polling that he would opt out. That made no sense, and it was obvious he was staying put months ago.
So you’re happier seeing Mookie go?
As for this: “I must say, readers here embarrassed themselves by polling that he would opt out'” I totally agree. No way was he going to do better.
Yes, I’d rather trade Mookie for prospects Than let JD walk and only get a 4th round pick out of it.
There’s also the JD for 3 Year’s >>> Mookie for 9+ Years argument.
This is awesome. Now they have to trade Betts. He needs to go anyway. He’s not worth Trout money and I don’t want the Sox to be the idiots to do it.
Dude. Same. Nobody I talk to agrees with this but I’m 100% with you.
Could be similar to the O’s trading Machado except Betts is better than Machado and will bring a better return — and unlike the O’s the Sox would not have to do a rebuild to contend again.
He will not bring in a better return than Machado. Machado was making 16M his last year in Baltimore, Betts will be making 28-30M next year. The majority of teams in baseball simply do not have the payroll space for him.
If the Sox want a good return they better be ready to eat money or take back another contract.
Betts would have a Full Season left on his Deal, Machado had a Full 2 Months left on his deal + the 3 week playoff run.
& obviously Mookie is a better player than Machado, that’s not debatable.
But that isn’t even a good contract comparison for Mookie anyway,
The Paul Goldschmidt Trade is a much much better comp
Yeah, it’s funny how all the Red Sox fans are fine with trading Betts. I’m assuming it’s because they think they’ll get a massive return. But no team is giving up much for only one yr of any player, especially a guy making the type of coin that Betts will next year. The Red Sox front office are in a very difficult spot too, as everyone knows Betts almost has to be dealt, so they’ll have no leverage.
0.00 Chance he Fetches less than what Machado/Goldschmidt Got for Baltimore & Arizona.
Sounds like typical Sox hate. It’s far less about the return than it is not paying anyone $30/year and hamstringing the club. He’s going to FA, everyone knows that. So trade him for a decent return so you get something in the event he doesn’t sign in free agency. Not sure why that’s so hard to understand.
I agree the right move is to trade mookie for the right deal.
I was also hoping to clear jd off the books because the money he makes is better spent on a wheeler/madbum than a bat which played down from his recent usual during the explosive ball year, and, while he hits he’s not clutch the way papi was. Game on the line, papi got it done. Too many games last year jd flied, popped, or struck out when things mattered but it got lost in terms larger narrative of ops and other stats.
Alt- good, insightful post. I agree completely.
“Too many games last year jd flied, popped, or struck out when things mattered but it got lost in terms larger narrative of ops and other stats.”
JDM had his highest OPS with 2 out compared with 1 or 0 outs, and was 1.027 OPS with RISP. You are utterly clueless about baseball analysis: the 3 games you watched doesnt speak for his whole season.
What an absolute meathead you are. Worst baseball IQ on the boards. SMH
Ops gives too much weight to single home run and 3 strikeouts.
You also miss the point.
A random 2 out risp with a 5 run lead does not count the same as doing the same thing down a run or tied.
When watching the games of one team, day in, day out, you get the butt-dyno effect a season long ops stat line misses out on.
Your reply misses the entire point of the comment, and does nothing to address the deficiency noted.
I think you need to look at the 2017 Red Sox Offensive Stats vs the 2018 & 2019 Offensive Stats
You sound clueless, he has a 317. AVG & a 985. OPS in 2 years with the Red Sox…..
Your narrative (which is actually perception-based, and thus the real narrative) is only half true. You are correct that last year Martinez didn’t have the situation positive impact of his stat line, as best demonstrated by his mediocre WPA. But only the year before Martinez was 4th in all of baseball in WPA, meaning that this isn’t a fixed “trait” of his. Martinez’s typical WPA season aligns similarly with many Ortiz seasons, though Ortiz had some outrageously high WPA seasons.
The problem is I doubt any team gives up much for only one year of a relatively expansive player.
They gonna need to move Price or Mookie at risk now.
Nobody is going to touch Price unless the Red Sox eat a toooon of his money.
Agreed. He may have been key to the ’18 WS victory but his history indicates strongly that that was an outlier performance, a fluke. Don’t think anyone would bet on that happening again.
Yep probably 20m a year of the 32m.
Yep, which means he won’t be going anywhere.
The Rangers have had internal discussions about the Red Sox ”expensive” starting pitching, via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
Choo (18.6 AAV 1 Year ) + Odor
(8.3 AAV 3 Years) for Price Lines up well Money Wise. Choo would be a safety net if Mookie is indeed traded & Odor would play 2nd, while Chavis plays 2nd & 1st again (Moreland is Gone) like he did in the 2019 Season.
Who plays RF in Boston then, Choo? No thanks. And that whole scenario assumes that Boston wants to dump pitching more than they want to cut payroll. Sounds way too overly optimistic for Texas.
Duh
Bye bye, Markus Betts
I think this was the smart play for him. Very limited DH only options out there and nobody wants him on the grass.
Yeah, I bet once he realized the Red Sox weren’t adding to the deal the opt out was never happening and he knew it.
Not a surprise. he was not going to do better on the open market. Glad to see him stay. Amazing on the middle of the order.
The fact that I can’t just be happy about this is another reason baseball is the absolute worst in 2019.
not shocked at all. He was not going to do better than what hes got, and Boston is a good park for him to mash.
He can always opt out next year, when he puts up better numbers.
When he’s another yr older, and already old in baseball terms I doubt it.
Nelson Cruz an immediate example of being awesome every single year after you turn 32.
And how many Nelson Cruz’s are there, and why are his contracts so short? Because no one expects it to keep going on. They’re only willing to gamble in short bursts. Why? Continued power success (DH) is so rare after 35.
Nelson Cruz is a known steroid/PED user. That alters the ability aging curve and means he isn’t a good comp for anyone other than a similar steroid user.
Are you accusing JDM of using PEDs?
Nelson Cruz and Ortiz are the only examples and look at Cruz’s contract as an example. He’s getting paid a quarter of what Martinez’s deal is.
JD Knows he’ll get a lot more pitches to hit once they trade Betts
I suspected this since next year he can opt out again and is paid well for a DH. That means tough trades coming within the Boston roster.
So much for the 20% of us who thought he would opt out and snag a deal for $80MM or more. As I said, I thought he was too smart to opt out when there was no way he could do better than the deal he already has with Sox. At the same time, he is worth the deal he has with the Sox. I respect him. As someone suggested above, he will make a great hitting coach someday if he chooses to go that route.
Yeah, all that opt out talk never made sense. He’s pretty old in baseball terms, and no way he gets a 4 yr deal, or more on an annual.
Hopefully this means “sayonara” to Mookie Betts. Martinez is a Yankee-killer but of the two I’d rather see Betts gone from Boston
Betts will be one of those players that fizzles out in 5 or 6 years because he’s too small.
You may be right. Frankly, I have no idea how he did what he did two years ago, given he’s 5’9″ 180 lbs.
Says Joe Morgan, Craig Biggio and Jose Altuve.
None of them ever did what Betts did two years ago.
Seriously, Look at Joe Morgan before you spout off
You’re right Morgan won back to back MVP’s, Betts never did.
You REALLY need to learn more baseball before you pontificate.
His stats. Look at his stats. Nothing like what Mookie did two years ago.
His stats.
Compare the stats. Tell me an individual season where Morgan’s stats stack up to Mookie’s. Morgan’s ONLY OPS over 1.000 was 1.020. Most HR’s was 27.
Seriously dude, your ignorance is on display here for everyone to see. Betts has had a few good years but Morgan had a 100+ WAR career and a lifetime .819 OPS over TWENTY TWO SEASONS. Betts is very good but 6 years hardly compares. Mookie’s good but can’t carry Lil Joe’s jock yet.
Also recall the difference between the baseball used the last couple seasons inflating stats and hrs…
Glad JD is back. I think his impact on Devers and Bogaerts will continue to be significant. It was not JD’s responsibility to free-up the Sox payroll.
Smart move. No way he beats $63.5 at his age. Teams hate old players these days without PED’s in the sport anymore.
I agree on everything but the PED’s comment. PED’s are still there, they just aren’t on the radar. We’ve got several players a year still getting flagged. And they aren’t doing it because it’s high risk of getting caught. They’re doing it because it’s low risk of getting caught. Several dozen maybe even a hundred players are still doing it and a few percent are getting caught. We shouldn’t be gullible about this. The testing regimen is still incredibly player-friendly and porous. Lots and lots of smart players are getting around it.
The PED’s aren’t there to the same extent and I seriously doubt the guys making major money are risking it. I’m pretty sure it’s being done way way less than 15 years ago, and I agree the testing process isn’t perfect but significantly better than it was even 5 years ago.
Bye Mookie
Outfielder? That’s generous.
Smart move on his part — he wasn’t going to get a better deal anywhere.
I still hope the Sox roll the dice and keep Betts and pray that JD opts out next year. Then throw all that money at Mookie
That’s not going to happen because they want to get the payroll from $240 to $208 MM and Mookie’s gonna get upwards of $27MM.
Interesting, wonder if he gets traded too?
Huh. I admit I wasn’t thinking that way. There are only a couple of teams that could/would take him. Whether or not they would value a DH at $24MM, a very high percentage of payroll for pretty much all teams, is a big quiestion. Whether or not they simply have the money or roster space are others. I don’t know if it could be done.
Why in the world would he see better pitches to hit if Betts gets traded? Moving Betts(which may make some sense) takes away from lineup protection for JDM. He will in fact get less pitches to hit in that case
Lineup protection would have been a moot point for most of 2019 with Mookie Betts primarily leading off for the Red Sox while JD Martinez usually hit cleanup. That said, there were occasions when Betts did hit #2 and Martinez batted third.
Not so–1–2–3–4==Benintendi, Xander, JD and Devers. 5–Chavis, 6 EE (1 B), Vazquez,
Actually now that JD stayed—they can shop JD, JBJ, and Mookie.
JD not opting out gives them the opportunity to have multiple conversations.. If they could get EE for a 1 year deal for JBJ money. and move JBJ that would stretch the line-up considerably.
They can then put Dalbec in AAA or AA with a 1 B glove until next Sept.
OR trade Mookie to St. Louis for 1 B Paul Goldschmidt and pitching help maybe…
Lots of options. Interesting Hot Stove.
I expected as much. This would also put to rest rumors that JD Martinez was reported to be a likely White Sox free agent signing had he opted out. Of course, none of this precludes a potential trade of Martinez to Chicago but that would be less likely now since he would then cost additional talent aside from the loss of their #2 2020 June Draft pick and $500k of international signing bonus dollars had they signed him as a free agent this offseason.
But, would the white sox trade one or two non-elite prospects, maybe a class a OF and AA reliever for JD, with the red sox tossing in 4m towards 2020 salary?
Might be a good deal
I’m sure the White Sox would consider it but would the Red Sox settle for that? This will depend on the direction that new Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom takes this offseason. Will he take one more shot at a World Series by retaining most of the present cast, will he retool or begin a bigger tear down?
Another factor is that Martinez will have two more opportunities to opt-out, next offseason and then the following winter.
If the White Sox discuss a deal for Martinez this winter they might as well kick the tires on Mookie Betts as well since the team had a black hole at both DH and RF in 2019.
If JD had opted out, sox would’ve gotten a 4th round pick.
I’d assume that getting out from the contract would generate a willingness to accept a similar return. an offer giving the equivalent of the 4th round pick talent-wise, plus something to make up the extra 1.5m in salary relief (remember sox were paying 2.5 regardless) and you get a deal.
It’s stays quo for basically both sox as if the deal had gone the other way – RS give some money, get a prospect plus the value of a 1m intl signing. WS give 2 prospects as if signing after a QO, and the salary paydown as if jd opted out.
Bonus to WS – 1st round pick if jd opts out and they use the QO. Bonus to RS – seeing what the guy you get did in the minors for a little while, someone you don’t see when drafting
How about JD and Sale? Sox have room to absorb both contracts. Win-win.
Give up a middling prospect or two? Have you seen the production from the DH spot from the White Sox the last 10 years?
League low pretty much across the board in all offensive totals in a hitters box. Heck taking the money is prob enough.
This is a no-brainer for them… if you were willing to give him a serious look if he opted out which would have been more years and money and a comp pick and you can get him for 3 years at a still very viable 33-35 then be free and clear, this has broken fantastic for you and you jump on it and pencil in a stud vet bat into a black hole position for a decade for less than you would have to pay at a price you can afford cause you have practically nothing on the books.
I don’t care about what DH plans you had for collins or what you do if Vaughn forces their hand at first and what to do with Abreau…. those are two very very big if’s… JD isnt an if… he’s .300 .375 ..950 35…
If you want to win, eventually you have to add a few big time players from outside… if you can get one at a spot where have nothing but questions in the wings, you do it or at least I would.
Only move that would move off it would prob be if they signed Grandal who would DH when not catching.
Of course this all depends on how much Boston wants to keep Betts and needs to dump JD’s $$
Just send us back Juan Moncada and Michael Kopeck for either JD or Betts..
JD would be hitting back to back with Abreu.
We need a 2 B and a pitcher to replace Porcello.
As long we get to keep Basabe, you got a deal.
Any interest in Luis Robert for Evoldi?
But if JD can opt out again after 2020 he just won’t bring a huge haul back in a trade.
I gotta say, it’s going to be another fantastic winter of the Yankees getting shut out over and over by the big name FA’s! No JDM for you! No Cole for you! No Strasmas for you! lol
It’s not a matter of getting shut out. JDM was never on their hit list. They don’t need another DH. They have several plus other players who use DH to take a break from their position. As for Cole and Stras, if they want them, they can get them. It’s just a question of whether they want to spend the money. Frankly, I don’t think they do. Not with Severino/German/Paxton/Happ/Montgomery. I would like a true #1 like Cole but not for $250MM or more. Look at the Price deal. Sorry but a WS is not worth $210MM for one player over several sub-stellar years and all the salaries (highest payroll) in 2018. It just wasn’t. Look at what they’re having to go through now. And the Sale deal is starting to look a little questionable, too. We’ll just have to watch Moncada, Kopech and Sale’s body. If past is prelude, they may wind up with another last place finish here soon. Instead of Cole/Stras, my guess is that Hal/Cashman will go for a second tier arm, another #2 or #3. Like that’s what they need…
Always has to be at least one Yankee Hater that just has to comment and show the total jealousy over the greatest baseball franchise in ML history….take it walking Hater! You are a 4th strike!
Greatest franchise in baseball history…and 95% of their championships were over 50 years ago and 99% were over 20 years ago.
They keep thinking they have enough pitching and continue to be greedy adding unnecessary bats. Here’s to hoping they keep on keepin on!
Martinez and the Yankees makes absolutely zero sense. They have a ridiculous amount of OF/DH guys already and Stanton’s bloated contract they’re dealing with.
This makes no sense… first off the Yankees were probably never going to be that interested in JDM. Not that he isn’t a great hitter (he obviously is) but they have enough good hitters already at a much cheaper price (even if they aren’t quite as good). And if anything not getting JD gives the Yankees more money to go after those other guys if they decide they want to.
I would think him opting in would upset Sox fans more than Yankee fans. The Red Sox indicated it would be tough to keep both Betts and JD and I’d personally take Betts (who has speed and a great glove in addition to a great bat) over JD (who has a great bat and can’t play the field at all)… even if Betts is going to leave after a year he’s important if the Sox want to be back in the playoffs next season.
As a RS, I am 55/45 on the happy side. I think his contract is on the plus side, but would not have added another year if a team like the WS went crazy. $63M/3 is about right.
And, oddly enough, this makes it easier to trade Betts. Had we lost JD’s bat, then we couldn’t afford to also lose Betts’ bat. With JD still here, if we trade Betts, and wind up with a Verdugo or Renfroe type in RF, then our offense is fine. While I agree that we need to reset the payroll, it doesn’t make sense to have a $100M rotation and a mediocre offense.
I like it on balance. It wouldn’t have bothered me if he left, but I think the future is a little clearer this way.
I think that’s a sensible reaction .
Well that sucks, but I never expected him to realistically opt out. It would have been highly foolish on his part in the current players market. No matter how much Boras wants to hype him up, he’s a DH only that can play the outfield in a pinch and that really closes his martket.
Does he have a no trade clause? Could be interesting trade bait.
I’m cool with this.
Does JD have a no trade clause?
He can only block trades to 3 Team’s, so it’s like a baby no-trade clause
Which ones?
Well, I guess someone is getting traded
Can you lay out a scenario? I’d be interested to hear it.
This is a tough one, but it’s doable. In the AL, I see suitors being the White Sox and even Cleveland if Boston pays some of the salary down in exchange for a good prospect
Generally speaking. If opting out isn’t a completely obvious decision for a player, the safe money is on him not opting out. Plus Steve Adams said a couple of months ago that the Res Sox probably don’t want to be on the hook for the last few years of JDM’s contract. Why would he opt out of a contract that he teams wants to get off the hook for?
Mookie Betts will be traded.
Honestly, I’m ok with it because the Red Sox aren’t going to pay him what he deserves anyway.
“the Red Sox aren’t going to pay him what he deserves anyway.”
Well it depends on what you think players of his caliber “deserve.” I don’t think they do deserve $250MM, $300MM, and up. Not with their propensity to get hurt or just plain sag in performance. I think a player like Mookie, Harper or Machado is worth maybe 5/$175MM. I don’t think there should be any deals longer than 5 years. It’s just too likely that they will be bad for the teams and the fans. Put ’em on for 5 years and then work out a new deal or go FA when it’s done. None of this 10 years or more stuff. You know that isn’t going to work out. Maybe not even for Trout. So I would quibble over what Mookie actually deserves. What he should get given the market conditions and what he might get in a bidding war, I’m not convinced the Sox (or anyone) should pay it. Maybe the recency and history of the Harper and Machado deals will suppress the market for Mookie? In all these superstar cases, I’d rather see the dollars spread around to make an overall better product (team) than pooled to bank the whole shooting match on the performance of 2-5 players.
I don’t think the machado/harper deals will surpress Mookie’s next contract.
You may prevent the Phills and Pads from bidding high, but, there’s a new crop of teams emerging from rebuilds that his combination of tools and age are enticing for.
Take the white sox – young core of early arb and pre-arb talent, lack of large or long term commitments, bats like abreu aging and heading to FA… if JD doesn’t wind up there its VERY easy to see them as a strong mookie suitor. The only 2 rebuilding squads I’d count out are marlins (because marlins) and orioles who are just too far away.
White Sox will offer him a contract with like $50m guaranteed and then club options and incentives that can boost it to $400m and then throw a temper tantrum when he signs with someone else.
Do you think he deserves Trout money? He isn’t half the player Trout is.
How about JD and Sale? Sox have room to absorb both contracts. Win-win.
Bye Mookie. It was real.
Can’t wait to see him traded.
as a Sox fan I am. very happy he is back with Boston! trade Betts and let’s play ball!
Oh and now the Red Sox can eat maybe $3m/year of his contract for the remainder of the contract and trade him to someone else
“You’re an idiot.” – 50% of the posts here.
Wah wah wah WAR wah wah wah OPS wah wah wah Mookie Betts wah wah wah.
I remember 2 years ago that guy outinleftfield kept saying that Giancarlo Stanton, JD Martinez and Eric Hosmer having opt outs in their contracts made the contract better for the team by rescuing them from the back-end of the contract. Well guess what? The player is the one who gets to decide whether or not he opts out and will only do so if the remaining contract is looking like a plus for the team. As in they don’t WANT to be rescued from the back-end of the contract. Martinez opted in. It’s pretty certain Stanton and Hosmer will do the same when they get the chance. Mr Baseball who knows it all. Pssssssf
As a Sox fan, I can’t understand the completely negative tone of some of the takes on his opting in.
He stabilized a lineup that floundered after Papi retired, performed under the bright lights and intense media coverage in Boston and helped his teammates along the way. I’ve got less problems paying him his share then Eovaldi, Price, or even Sale because bad back or not the dude hits. I would attribute his drop off to his various malodies, and come on folks, even then, it was a very limited drop off.
If the Sox can get some valuable prospects for Mookie, and then fill gaps in RF and CF by trading Betts and JBJ, you might see a net positive for the entire outfield group if/when Beni rebounds from an off year.
Bottom line is we didn’t loose because offense, we lost because starters and a very limited pen, and I’m not sure how we improve the rotation given the guarantees we have there unless Sale and Price find the fountain of youth, or Eovaldi miraculously finds some magic healing potion and can find some control over his stuff.
As for the pen, we need at least 2 guys there to take innings from Barnes etc. I’m not comfortable going into next year with Workman as our primary closer, stats be damned, he walks too many guys and nibbles too much without primary control for me to trust him.
“Bottom line is we didn’t we lose because of offense”. Exactly why Sox fans wanted him to opt out. The team has serious pitching holes and depth issues with no payroll flexibility even with Betts dealt. JD is great but he plugs up the DH spot for cheaper options. Plus it’s not likely anyone is giving up the farm for one year of any player, including Betts to help with all the other issues.
I think most RS fans are okay with this. JDM is still an important player for us. We could fill other holes with his salary, but it feels like we’d just be creating a new hole.
Glad JD is back. Wish we could lock up Mookie too. Terrible year, last, for Sox pitchers and their health. Doesn’t give one a settled feeling about pitching in 2020 except for Eduardo. This is an exciting group to watch hit and defend. Hate to break it up. Spend your money, Red Sox. Maybe new GM will pull some rabbits out of a hat.
So perhaps the Red Sox can renegotiate his contract to offload some 2020 money in return for 2 years or something like that. Hate to lose Betts at the top of the lineup as I suspect his production would be hard to replace. Bradley seems gone for sure. Perhaps some other trades that would offload salary would also be in order. 2020 looks like it could be a rough one for the Sox.
This young group of home grown Red Sox players/hitters got a mojo going.
The Red Sox will make this work one way or the other in 2020.
We have a better hitter, with JDM,in 2020, than we could have had otherwise without him. But we will probably suffer Luxury Tax consequences in 2020.
I do see the Red Sox choosing to exceed $208 MM for 2020 because of this JDM opt “in”..
Don’t see the Red Sox dumping talent (Mookie) over this issue when push comes to shove.
2021 and beyond the payroll will likely start to turn below the Luxury Tax threshold.
My personal opinion is the Red Sox “making this work in 2020” has less to do with JD and more to do with pitching. Even if JD left, they keep Betts and the offense is fine. Now even if they decide to trade Betts, they’ll have JD and the offense will be fine. Keeping both clearly makes it better. But none of that will matter if sale looks like he did last year and eovaldi is his typical injured self with a 4-4.5 era, and price is injured/mediocre next year. Especially if they don’t want to invest in several relievers (of which the Sox probably need 2).
I think this was to be expected – could he have gotten a contract for more total $ on the open market? Maybe… but he’d have been saddled with a QO and is essentially limited to AL teams with a DH spot. And if he did opt-out chances are the Red Sox who have stated a desire to shed payroll – would not have been a player in his FA bidding. The only real way he was going to make out in FA was if the Red Sox were going to essentially bid against other teams to retain him thus driving up the $ for them or someone else. Once they essentially eliminated themselves from the potential suitors I think JD and Boras looked at things and said – better safe than sorry. And as a Sox fan I have to say I’m pleased he is staying — I know it means Betts might be on the way out but honestly I’d rather have JD for 3 more years than Betts for 1 and then have him leave in FA for essentially nothing. Also as great as Betts is… I don’t think he’s worth “Trout/Harper/Machado” $ and I think he’s probably going to get it in FA – so best course of action, I think, is to deal him now and try to recoup a package of the best prospects possible.
Jeff I agree with you.
I’m happy he’s staying in Boston. Although I know Boras prolly looked into every team n what they would offer, too. Boras doesn’t want to n lose money either. I do think Mookie will be traded, n he should be. I am sick to death of him talking about FA all the time.
As I predicted. There is no way he gambles when I got lucky anyone offered him 110 million the first time. Tigers only offered him 75 million. No one was going to pay him what he already has & throw a QO with compensation attached to him would have him out of baseball until June then a bunch of 1 year offers of 10 to 15 million. Smart move!
I don’t think he could go wrong either way, and this is a safer decision for him. He would have gotten paid well in FA, but this is pretty big money and hard to turn away
it’s great that he stayed because now they can trade Betts who is just another Elsbury…Betts will get overpaid by some fool so trade him for the best offer we can get…
Finally someone who understands that Betts is too small to live up to a big contract.
Betts is far better then Ellsbury but I do worry how Betts will age. I’m thinking he will be more like Andrew McCutchen only a little bit better but noticeable drop off especially after 30. If someone gives him a long term big contract they will regret it in a few years. I hope he proves me wrong I like Mookie but I don’t think so.
Looks like White Sox need to push hard on Corey Dickerson, move Jimenez to DH, keep Jose one more year, promote 2B and CF. Then go out and get hew CF. Surprised they are keeping Yolmer, when Luery will do with more flexibility and high BA.
Meant seek RF
The White Sox will not consider making Eloy Jimenez a DH at this point in his young career. They were reported to be the favorites to sign JD Martinez had he opted-out of his Red Sox contract and may now seek another veteran option, perhaps Nicholas Castellanos who may also be considered for RF. Edwin Encarnacion is also a free agent now and would be an option since he has already proved to be productive as a DH, something not all defensively challenged position players are able to accomplish.
The White Sox will surely look to prioritize adding a left-handed hitting bat to balance out a batting order that leans heavily right-handed. The team has two black hole positions in which to find that bat, RF and DH. Another possibility would be to just find the best options for each of those positions regardless of handedness and pursue switch-hitting catcher Yasmani Grandal to be their primary backstop with James McCann becoming the backup and perhaps Lucas Giolito’s personal catcher since the two work so well together. Lefty hitting but defensively challenged Zack Collins would then become the White Sox third string catcher, backup 1B Jose Abreu and potentially DH versus right-handed pitching. Grandal would join 3B Yoan Moncada as a second strong switch-hitter in the batting order and help with the lineup imbalance that way.
The White Sox may yet have an interest in Dickerson but likely as a DH option and not to replace Jimenez in LF. With a relatively weak FA class for lefty hitting RF’s, I believe the White Sox will prioritize finding that bat via a trade, perhaps turning to the Dodgers who have a surplus in their OF. MVP candidate Cody Bellinger is going nowhere but Alex Verdugo or Joc Pederson could be available for the right price. The Mets are another team with an apparent surplus with Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil.
The Sox aren’t making any big trades until they see what Sale/Price/Evauldi look like in March. If the SP looks good they will keep everyone until at least the trade deadline. If the team doesn’t look like it can compete they can trade half of Betts contract and get under the cap.
Gotta tell ya, whenever I need a reminder of what idiots RS fans are, I just have to come here and read something like this. This guy helped you to a 108 win season in 2018 and a championship, and you are hoping he gets hurt so you can get rid of him? Honestly, you are the worst fans in the game.