Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez will have an opportunity to return to free agency during the upcoming offseason, but the 33-year-old designated hitter admitted to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe on Thursday that he’d be leery of testing the open market off a pandemic-shortened season.
Regarding the 60-game schedule, Martinez said: “I would not want to be a free agent during this time for that reason. You just don’t know.”
As Martinez implied, a shorter season is more conducive to strange outcomes – perhaps damaging ones for pending free agents – than a 162-game slate. For instance, one of the surprises of this season has been the typically great Martinez’s underwhelming production, and he’s running out of time to boost his numbers.
After a run as one of the game’s elite offensive players from 2014-19, which he divided among Detroit, Arizona and Boston, Martinez has put up a.234/.317/.406 line with just three home runs in 145 plate appearances. Martinez’s .172 isolated power number sits 80 points under last year’s figure (.252), while his hard-hit rate and Statcast numbers have also fallen off significantly since then.
Martinez’s 2o20 woes may just be a product of a much smaller sample size than normal, though he nonetheless hasn’t done himself any favors as a potential opt-out candidate. Once the offseason arrives, Martinez will have a chance to leave behind the remaining two years and $38.7MM of the five-year, $110MM contract he signed with Boston before the 2018 campaign. Martinez also had an opt-out chance last winter, but he decided to stay put on the heels of another fantastic season at the plate.
Considering how his season has gone, not to mention the economic uncertainty in the game, it’s hard to envision Martinez testing the market in a couple months. Regardless, Martinez emphasized to Speier that he’s “focusing on right now,” not his opt-out decision, and he lavished praise on the Red Sox and their fan base.
JD Martinez has been excellent in his first two seasons with the Red Sox. I expect a rebound.
Me too. I’ve been saying the team should extend him one year at the same money in exchange for him giving up his options and then make him and Xman co-captains. They both lead by example. His horrid year is probably in MHO related the craziness surrounding the pandemic and how the baseball year including training camp played out.
Funny I’ve been hoping he opts our every year Getting him on a 2-3 deal would’ve been the best outcome. It’s all downhill from here
That’s not possible with the CBA. Can’t change the contract. Only the NFL CBA has that ability built into it.
Plenty of previous examples of it in MLB as well. CC with the Yanks immediately jumps to mind as a Boston fan.
Not trolling here — how much has MLB’s new policy on in-game use of video affected JD? Not was not cheating, but he (perfectly legally) would watch video after his at bats during games and make adjustments. Do we think that he will never be the hitter hewas without being able to do that?
I’ve been thinking and saying the same thing some guy.
If MLB”s policy remains the same I expect you’re right. The next 2 years can’t pass fast enough till his bloated contract is off the books.
Bloated contract? Are you out of your mind? First of all, he helped bring another World Series… you can’t put a price tag on that.
Secondly, his 5/110M deal was way below what he was asking for and also below what MLBTR predicted.
Additionally, the 9.6 WAR he has produced is worth way more than he has been paid so far. I think the contract will end up being roughly market value.
Martinez did not receive any offers close to what the Red Sox offered, so the “market” was too high. Martínez got the highest amount ant team was willing to pay!!!
JD Martinez has been saying it. So it’s not trolling.
True, but I’ve read the comment section here enough to now that some people might jump all over someone asking a question like that.
Some guy, you could write on this comment section that people need to breathe oxygen to live and you’d likely have someone jump on it…
Ask what you want, write what you believe. Keyboard heroes coming after you shouldn’t matter.
…or complain that the owners are stingy and not giving the fans enough oxygen….lol
I know Martinez has made this claim, but I don’t see the evidence to back it up. This year, without the in-game video available, his OPS is .830 the first time he faces the starter and 1.056 the second time he faces him in that game. This is not at all consistent with his claim. Also, In 2018 and 2019, when he did have in-game video, His OPS was higher in his first time seeing the starter and lower the second time. This is exactly the opposite of what you would expect to see if the lack of video was making him less effective.
The afternoon guys on WEEI talked about this a month or two ago and basically said JD is in his own head. He has become so dependent on video, looking at his swing, looking at previous at bats/batting practice, etc and making adjustments from there that he doesn’t know how to do it without it anymore. It’s his security blanket and athletes and very routine based. His routine is out of whack and he is a very routine dependent hitter. Unfortunately that won’t change so he will either need to adjust or he won’t be very good anymore.
Martinez will be 33. That rebound might not be as certain as you think. Players do tend to decline exactly at the age he’s at now and often the decline is quicker and steeper than fans think it will be. When a player has an off year at 26, they’ll probably rebound a bit. But at 32? Not so much. That being said, he has a long way to fall from his ‘18-‘19 stats and still be good.
But you also gotta remember that JD was a very late bloomer. My Tigs picked him up off the waiver wire from the Stros for next to nothing and something just clicked that year. I do see him starting a climb down as far as stats go, but not at a clip that you are thinking. I believe he can be a 25-35 HR and 30-35 2B guy into his late 30s. It’s only my opinion but I can see that happening
I wouldn’t say I’m confident he’s at that age where you just don’t know but if I had the opportunity to sign him as a buy relatively low and hope for the best contract I certainly would .
But he would be crazy to opt out now as he said. He’s getting paid like the big offensive producer you can only hope he will return to. The Red Sox would love for him to opt out but there’s no way that happens.
Red Sox fans punching air right now
Many including me have both hands in the air, yelling “YES”. We want to win in 21 and no matter how many future moves CM makes before next season begins, the team needs present moves (immediately ready pitching) and a return of JDM to do so. Simply put, if JDM, Xman and Devers (who seems to be coming out of his funk) are hitting, they will score.
Oh yeah, we are all super sad.
I’m glad JD set everything square this early so the management will know what their team will be. He’ll rebound.
He’ll be better than he’s been but don’t expect a full rebound. When a player has a bad season at age 32 that’s not an off year, that’s decline. I never get why fans never see this coming with great players at this age. Decline isn’t usually as gradual as fans think.
Agree that age-related decline shouldn’t be ruled out. But keep in mind it’s only 34 games worth of stats, more likely it’s just a slump. What I don’t like is how he’s making excuses for playing bad baseball.
Yea if there is one season I’m willing to consider giving a player the benefit of the doubt for a bad year, its this one.
He complains about not having the same access to videoas last year. Well, Billy Mays didnt have that option bud.
Billy Mays? I think he played about the same time as Harry Aaron and Randy Clemente.
Don’t forget Tomas Seaver
That is Willie Mays Hayes cousin I believe
I thought Ace was talking about the video pitchman who passed from drug use and I was trying to understand the comparison. Who is Billy Mays in baseball?
Billy Mays had the distinction of playing on multiple one year contracts. Always loyal to his team, gave the hometown discount on extensions (just add separate shipping and handling).
No he certainly did not
Billy Mays, the OxiClean guy?
Don’t forget Michael Mantle and Hank Robinson. Two other greats from that era.
We have a winner!
Billy Mays is to baseball what Joe Montainia was to football
Joe Montainia tackled just like Bobby Boucher!
Billy Mays used PEDs, sadly, but he introduced me to OxiClean and my linens have never been cleaner!
McKees Rocks’ own. His life revolved around white powder, evidently.
BILLY MAYS HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT VIDEOAS
to quote Buck Martinez
Buck Martinez sounds like he has a helium balloon stuck in one of his nostrils up at the top of his naval cavity.
Say hey!! The power of oxygen!
Before the start of the 60-game season I thought he could be a good bat for the Braves assuming they allow Ozuna to walk similar to Donaldson. His contract fits their MO in both salary and years left. If there’s a team more desperate for starting pitching than Atlanta it’s Boston. They could net some promising pitching talent that just needs more development time than Atlanta can realistically offer.
If there is a team desperate for starting pitching it’s the Braves.
Problems are, ATL doesn’t have the DH past this year, JDM is well below average as a fielder, sun trust doesn’t have a small OF to hide him in, ATL has waters/pache to go in the OF, JDM hasn’t performed well since in game video was taken away, JDM isnt a 3B, and JFM is paid waaay too much compared to what other bat-only guys have gotten last couple off seasons – thus his refusal to opt out.
In short, no reason he fits in Atlanta other than being a high aav short term deal.
Further proof that opt out clauses are terrible for teams. They only get used if the team doesn’t want them to be used (Greinke, A-Rod, Cespedes, etc)
a lot if writers argue that the players leave money on the table in order to secure the opt outs.
Further proof that most writers at the majority of supposed news organizations are nuts.
I’m not sure players leave money on the table necessarily though, sometimes it just tips the scale.
29yr old FA.
Team 1: offers 100m/5yr deal. Places 3rd in division, has top 5 farm.
Team 2: offers 100m/5yr deal. Places 1st in division, has bottom 5 farm.
Nobody budges on offers and it’s ST.
If team two comes knockin and says, ok, opt out after year 2, player signs. Gets best win-now chance, can skip town before it’s time for a rebuild, and, can optimize earnings by going for a new deal at age 31 instead of age 34.
Neither left money on the table compared to another offer, BUT, it incentivized a guy to take a deal with an aging core that has no farm over an up and coming team that would likely be a contender over more of the deal.
Should of traded him in the offseason
No trade clause and no trade value
JD Martinez. This year is a small sample. My guess is he opts in.
Nobody, NOBODY pays him 19m this offsets on for next year let alone 39m over the next two… unless you’re talking in yen or yuan instead of dollars.
He won’t opt out for 2021.
“As Martinez implied, a shorter season is more conducive to strange outcomes”
If I was a Red Sox fan I’d be really upset about this. You get paid to perform stop making excuses.
I mean he isn’t wrong. Smaller sample sizes allow for more outlier seasons
That sounds good in theory until you look at the guys who are dominating the stat lines: They’re all superstars.
This is at the bottom of the list of things to be upset about right now as a Red Sox fan.
You sound like an incredibly stupid individual
You sound like an incredibly rude individual.
Here’s the thing…
Everything about JDM’s game is off. He’s not getting the contact, he’s not squaring up the way he normally would. He’s not getting the speed off the bat.
Small sample can have skewed results because of luck. Because your babip is off.
He’s a hitter. He had access to boras’ little institute. He should’ve rolled into the season as prepared as ever like other guys did. Supposedly he is all about preparation.
Your choices are: there’s an injury and he’s favoring something (nope), he’s lost a first step from age and needs to tweak things (maybe), or, he’s making excuses because he can’t look at video in-game for clues to use to recognize what’s happening during a pitch in his next AB. (Highly likely)
Did Milly Bays really gets his nose bitten off?
He wouldn’t be the first slugger aging out in his early 30s. It happens. That said, I do expect him to rebound, at least somewhat.
It got a lot tougher for some former stars this year now that they can’t use technology to tell them what pitch is coming next.. Devers, Gardner, Torres, Altuve, Sanchez (not that he was ever the best hitter anyway…), Bellinger, etc..
Mookie’s one cheater who’s excelling though.
Four weeks left in the regular season and a journalist is asking a player about his contract and whether or not he’s opting out. Inappropriate question at this time. Ask that question right before he clears his locker after game 60.
Is JD “mashing”? He had a couple good games. Or is that just for Yankee players?
My take is without video he is no longer able to detect pitch tipping. His excuse to work on his swing is a ruse.
I hope they permanently keep in game video out. Don’t let the video room contact the manager during challenges, don’t let hitters view pitching in game. Why don’t we let the best minds and best players dictate the game, not who has the best systems in place.
I agree !!!
When Nelson Cruz is making $13M, there’s not a way to really justify JDM making half again more. Even at his best, he’s a worse bang-for-the-buck than Cruz. No surprise he’s opting in, especially if he’s having such a down year.
A lot of teams don’t want to bring in a PED cheater. You can’t compare him to Cruz.
Sure you can. I have a sneaking suspicion that JD was involved with the red sox replay guy who got suspended.
Cruz did his time. We have no reason not to expect he’s clean.
Reality is, fewer and fewer teams are viewing DH a’s a position to actively fill in a David Ortiz manner. Instead, the trend is that it’s either a retirement pasture for tail end contracts that can’t play the field, or, a mixture of rotating position that gives guys a rest from the field and a place to get young guys AB experience without needing to play the field.
There are teams who don’t pay big money for players who have got caught cheating… especially PEDs. It’s just a fact.
As far as JDM. He hasn’t been on the market since he got caught. Astro players haven’t been on the market since they got caught.
Time will tell if they are affected as well.
I’ll agree with that Halo.
However, it seems there is ALWAYS a sufficient market of teams willing to bring in a player with ‘history.’ Usually it’s more a question of optics and negative press in the short term than apparent ethics holding them back.
Think about it. You can go current with Chapman, Osuna, etc. You can go older with Julio Lugo, Ramirez. You can go even further with gary sheffield, daryl strawberry. Let’s not get into all the prime steroid era guys, names I listed were reported with stolen cars, drugs, assaulting police, slamming wives heads into hoods, firearms, all manner of bad things…
I’m cherry picking names, but, there’s plenty in any time period. Sad thing is, no matter what you do in mlb, as long as you can avoid getting a prison sentence there’s a job waiting for you and always has been.
I don’t think Chapman is in the same league as these others. He certainly shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as Osuna. Osuna hasn’t hit free agency yet either.
I don’t see a lot of team bidding heavily on PED users. The M’s don’t seem to care. The Twins don’t seem to care. But it seems like most teams do.
Even if it’s just public perception, cheaters are hard to market.
He’s right. Clubs will tell guys with bad outcomes “We’re not paying you much after THAT crappy season!” Guys with good outcomes will hear “We’re not paying you much for THAT sample size!”
Guys with good outcomes will hear “We’re not paying you much for THAT sample size!”
Lol, yeah RIGHT. Wait till you what kind of contract Bauer gets this offseason.
There’s less revenue to throw around and a much smaller sample size on which to base decisions.
In a normal season this would be like having to decide how good guys are by ignoring everything after the first week of June.
Boring. I thought he was going to discuss sexbots and flying cars.
Sox are going into a long term rebuild, JDM is old and entering his downside, let him go and proceed with the young player rebuild. Sox however are great at spending stupid money.
I’m surprised at some of the comments here. How soon you forget about the WS title he helped bring. The players look up to him as he is a leader in the club house! Yes he is having an off season, but it’s not really a season based on games and a small sample at that. I just watched him play vs Jays and his at bats are good. Things will turn around for him with adjustments. He is far from done and his contract is very fair compared to others.