As expected, J.D. Martinez will not enact the opt-out clause in his contract with the Red Sox, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Martinez’s five-year, $110MM deal signed in February 2018 contained opt-outs after both last season and this season, and with Martinez staying put, he is slated to earn $19.375MM in each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Martinez already suggested near the end of the season that he wouldn’t be leaving his deal, so today’s news is no surprise. After six years as one of the sport’s better batters, Martinez struggled badly in 2020, hitting only .213/.291/.389 with seven home runs over 237 plate appearances. In an offseason with limited dollars to be spent anywhere around baseball, teams would have been far more focused on Martinez’s 2020 performance, his age (33), and his mostly DH-only status than his past track record, so it’s hard to imagine Martinez would have topped two years and $38.75MM in free agency.
For now, the question might be what the Red Sox can expect from Martinez going forward. The slugger has been vocal about how his regular routine (everything from offseason work to in-game preparations such as watching video) was altered by the pandemic and COVID-19 protocols. Since the 2021 season certainly looks like normal operations won’t revert back to a pre-2020 state, it will be up to Martinez to figure out new adjustments to get himself back on track at the plate.
No really??
It’s kinda the same thing with G. Hayward and his opt out
Not a surprise. Big contracts are not on the table this year
I bet Bauer still gets a big contract.
How much would you bet?
Define big. Bauer probably gets paid yes, but very likely he isn’t going to get what he would have gotten had the Pandemic not happened.
Bauer will do a one year deal. It’s going to be interesting what happens after this current Collective Bargaining Agreement comes to an end after the 2021 season.
1 year or his contract will have player opt outs for every season
What is a “big” contract? What does that mean?
Not surprising. This is an off FA year and there will be a lot more players on the open market this year than in past years but the talent level isn’t like past years. And with the Pandemic very likely altering teams spending plans, makes little sense to give away that type of money right now.
….duh…..
Gotta love the business. Boston is about to pay around 21 million for a guy that hit .213 last year.
And 60 games removed from hitting .304 with 35 homers and 100+rbi…what’s your point?
That he can’t adjust to the new normal.
It was 60 games…relax buddy.
The other issue is that he’s a DH. Be a little bit different if he was at least an average fielder.
There’s a lot of things broken on the business side of baseball. Teams being forced to give $26-$27M salaries for a player’s arbitration year. Qualifying Offers set at $18M. I mean seriously, only established elite players are earning $20-$30M a year, and QO’s are $18M??? At least JD earned his 2021 salary with several outstanding seasons, that’s why MLB contracts are guaranteed.
They shouldn’t be. Why should he be paid for past seasons in 2021-2022. He’s already been paid for that production
So what do you suggest? The player assume all the risk? Mike Trout was worth 30 WAR his first 4 years and made 8 million, the team decided how much he should have been compensated and they decided he was worth 8 million for those 4 years. He’s the extreme but many many players received similar fates. And why shouldn’t QO’s be high, its the average of the top 125 players for the past season but the team is tying your services to compensation they receive thereby lowering your earning potential even though they received your services at a discount for the past 7 years. There’s a problem with the economics in baseball but its that the players just breaking in make peanuts compared to production.
Most, if not all, contracts are given to players with the predetermined idea that you overpay later for poor production in order to get them on your team to rake for a few years and play a major part in winning a now. Pujols, A-Rod, McCutchen, Sale, Verlander, Kemp, and eventually Trout and Betts.
You are so far off I don’t even know where to begin. Players don’t get paid *for* their production, they are not salesmen working on commission. Their future salaries, after 6 years of ML service, are based on what they’ve done in the past and what they are expected to do in the future. If a guy in his rookie season wins MVP, you think he got paid for his production??? Of course not! As for players just breaking in, yes there’s a ceiling based on service time. It’s necessary, otherwise small market teams would be losing great homegrown players just one or two years after their MLB debut. You can’t have drafted players eligible for free agency after just one or two years of MLB service, that would be asinine. They pay their dues, accept the low salaries the first few years, then cash in after 5 or 6 years of service. Remember MLB is a partnership, if small market teams can’t afford to compete and go down then they drag the rest of MLB down with them. Each team is not a separate entity.
“They pay their dues, accept the low salaries the first few years, then cash in after 5 or 6 years of service. ”
And what happens if a player’s best years (or most of their best years) occur during those 5-6 years when they are being underpaid? They never “cash in,” as you say. They get screwed. Out of millions. Perhaps tens of millions. One shot at the big payday in their lives and they get screwed out of it (or much of it). All your work and elite talent gone unrewarded. Doesn’t sound like a fair or equitable system to me.
What? That makes zero sense. You really don’t understand any of it, do you? To answer your question, what happens if a player’s best years are his first 5-6? He cashes in with a massive contract that – wait for it – was BASED in large part on his performance during those first 5-6 years. That’s exactly what Mookie did, and now he’s literally set for life. He could gain 100 pounds this offseason and his numbers could be horrendous for the next dozen years, and he still gets paid a massive amount. He could also suffer a career-ending injury in ST next year, and still get paid a massive amount over the next dozen years. So tell me how he could possibly “get screwed” as you say? The ONLY way a player could “get screwed” is if his first 4-5 years are great, and then he gets a career-ending injury during Year 6 before signing a big contract. But that’s a small risk players take, compared to the huge risk teams take after giving out massive longterm contracts.
Really vtn? Isn’t that what FA is all about? Paying for what a guy has done in the past and HOPING for the future?
Fever Pitch Guy
“The ONLY way a player could “get screwed” is if his first 4-5 years are great, and then he gets a career-ending injury during Year 6 before signing a big contract.”
NO. If he tails off in year 5 or 6 and never recovers he won’t get the payday. THAT’S what I was talking about. His big years occur somewhere during 1-5 and then he never gets the big payday. He’s SCREWED.
QO is top 20% of salaries averaged
The point is it’s supposed to be high. This is THE FIRST time players have a chance to sign for big money, and teams can (usually) throw the QO to kill his market. So yeah, the player better be getting something pretty decent back
If you don’t wanna pay him 19M, let him go be a free agent and you can bid like everyone else
Long contracts are notorious for players getting more money than they’re worth as they get older …. sometimes it is the only way you can sign some of these guys…
Do you think Mookie Betts is gonna be worth
$32 when he’s 39 year old?
probably not, but the Dodgers got him playing RIGHT NOW for their championship team
People look at large contracts so badly
It’s not about his value at 39. It’s about his combined value from 28-39 will be worth 300+M Over time. If his value is 60M a year for the first 8 years, the dodgers did damn good with a 300M investment and 4 more years of returns coming
They won’t give a damn if he’s on a retirement tour at 39. He already paid for his deal, health permitting
Do you expect his value to be $60mil/year?
If he had opted out last year i think the White Sox would have chased him hard so they dodged a long-term bullet. Encarnacion was even worse but at least for them it is only a one and done year with him.
I know it sucks, but quit blaming the pandemic or else it will defeat you mentally, because it is
here to stay – ain’t going anywhere,.any time soon.
Obviously revenues took a huge hit, but as we saw with Betts, the top players will still get their money. Bauer, JTR, Springer will all get more than $20M per season in multi-years deals.
I know he had a tough year but JDM remains my favorite Red Sox player. I think he bounces back.
I did not see if San Diego exercised Mitch Moreland’s option yet…..anyone know?
I gotta believe they will. Even if he misses half the season as usual, he’s worth it. And they can always flip him mid-season if they don’t need him.
I think I read somewhere that options needed to be picked up by today….??
The did not exercise Moreland’s option. He is now a free agent.
2021 is the last year before the new CBA. Lots of teams will be looking for players like Jon Lester, Chris Archer etc on one yr deals to bridge to the new CBA rules. Will there be a DH in the NL? Will there be a lux tax; and, if so, at what levels? So many ??? before teams decide on a new long term plan for 2022 – 2028.
That’s why I think the Sox will try to compete on a short term basis in 2021.
What do you mean by “competing on a short term basis??
Several vets on the cheap for 1 yr. Like Robby Ray 1yr/ 6MM; Lester 1/5; Porcello 1/5;;Archer 1/4; Martin Perez 1/3 etc
Continue to develop Houck, Pivetta, Groome, Mazza, D. Hernandez for the long term.
You can add Moreland & Pillar on 1 yr deals .
3 SP’s & Mitch + Pillar for 20 MM will allow the Sox to become a playoff contender. If they have a healthy Sale by Oct they could contend.
No surprises here. Only players who are clearly worth more than the remaining money on their contract actually do opt out (think Zack Greinke, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Rodriguez)
No surprise here. Anyone with an opt-out would be foolish to exercise it right now.