The Mets and Angels are “eyeing” J.D. Martinez, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman had previously floated both clubs as speculative fits for Martinez but this report seems to point to something with a bit more backing.
Martinez, now 36, was also a free agent last winter. He eventually signed with the Dodgers for one year and $10MM, though he later suggested he could have found more money if he held out a bit longer. “This was an offer that came up seeing if it was something I was interested in doing,” Martinez said in March to Rob Bradford of WEEI. “Obviously, it was a little bit of a pay cut, but if I held up maybe I could have gotten more. We were confident about that. But at the same time I wanted a team that was going to be in October, be in the swing of things all year and give me a chance to win.”
It also allowed him to reunite with Robert Van Scoyoc, the Dodgers hitting coach who previously made Martinez into a premium major league hitter. Joining the Dodgers and reuniting with Van Scoyoc went very well, as Martinez ended up having a strong season. He hit 33 home runs and slashed .271/.321/.572 for a wRC+ of 135, with both that home run tally and the wRC+ figure his personal best since 2019.
Despite all of that, a reunion with the Dodgers is not in the cards. The club didn’t issue him a qualifying offer because they wanted to keep their designated hitter slot open for a pursuit of Shohei Ohtani. Now that they have successfully added Ohtani to the roster, there’s no real way to fit Martinez into their plans. He’s capable of playing the outfield on occasion but logged just 12 innings there this year and none at all in 2022.
Martinez will thus be looking for a club that can accommodate a full-time DH. The Blue Jays and Diamondbacks are two clubs that are open to such an addition and both have been connected to Martinez in rumors, but the Angels and Mets are also viable landing spots.
For the Halos, they have been using their DH slot on Ohtani in recent years. Now that he’s heading to the Dodgers, that spot is open for someone new. They will be facing the challenge of trying to build a competitive team without Ohtani, something they weren’t able to do with him. Martinez is one of the few available free agents that can come close to making up for Ohtani’s lost offensive production.
Though there are reasons why he may not be a perfect fit. Having Ohtani locked into the DH spot in recent years has prevented the club from using that role to give other players a breather. They have several players on the roster with injury concerns, such as Anthony Rendon, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward, who could perhaps benefit from more semi rest days. The Angels would have to weigh the value of adding Martinez to the lineup against that loss of flexibility. On top of that, the current squad skews right-handed. Luis Rengifo is a switch-hitter and then Mickey Moniak and Nolan Schanuel are lefties, but the other projected regulars are all righties.
If they did decide to make a play for him, they should have plenty of room in the budget. Their competitive balance tax figure is currently at $168MM for next year, per Roster Resource. That puts them almost $70MM below the lowest tax threshold of $237MM. MLBTR predicted Martinez for a contract of $40MM over two years, an average annual value of $20MM. The Angels also have some work to do in addressing their pitching staff but there’s space for a Martinez deal if they want to do it.
For the Mets, their regular DH this year was Daniel Vogelbach, though he was non-tendered after a somewhat middling campaign. That leaves their best internal option for the DH spot as DJ Stewart, who shouldn’t stand in the way of someone like Martinez. He finished 2023 on a heater, hitting 11 home runs in 58 games after having his contract selected in July. However, he has been inconsistent in his career, having hit .213/.327/.400 prior to 2023 for a wRC+ of 99. He can play the outfield but is considered a poor defender. He had to settle for a minor league deal last winter, though his hot finish to 2023 led the Mets to tender him a $1.38MM contract for 2024. If Martinez were to be brought aboard, Stewart could be nudged into a part-time role as a platoon guy/pinch-hitter.
Since Martinez will be limited to a short-term deal on account of his age, that could fit with the Mets and their current approach. They are treating 2024 as a sort of transition year, with the aim of having a greater chance at contending in 2025 and beyond. That doesn’t mean they are overly concerned about the budget, however. Their CBT figure is currently pegged at $298MM by Roster Resource, already above the fourth tax line of $297MM. They took on money in the Adrian Houser/Tyrone Taylor deal and have given modest guarantees on one-year deals to Luis Severino, Joey Wendle, Jorge López, Austin Adams and Michael Tonkin.
As a third-time payor that is over the final CBT tier, any additional spending from the Mets would come with a massive 110% tax. But the tax bill for the year isn’t calculated until the end of the season. If they end up out of contention again, they may end up selling off pieces prior to the 2024 deadline. Pete Alonso, José Quintana and Severino are impending free agents making eight figures next year, and Martinez could potentially be on that list as well.
The Mets have also shown a willingness to eat money in deadline deals in order to improve the prospect return, doing so in both the Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander trades a few months back. If the club decides Martinez is a good fit for the roster and could perhaps be a nice trade chip by the summer, they would likely fork over the money to get him signed.
Whether that’s something Martinez would be interested in is a different matter. As quoted up top, he chose the Dodgers in part for the chance to be playing in October. Both the Mets and Angels are less clear-cut contenders right now than the Dodgers were a year ago. On the other hand, the Diamondbacks are coming off a World Series appearance while the Jays have made the postseason in three of the past four seasons, giving those clubs stronger cases to pitch to Martinez in terms of competitive chances. Though it’s unknown what kind of financial arrangements each club is willing to consider, which will undoubtedly be a factor in his decision making as well.
So who else looks to see if the player is repped by Boras as soon as they see that Jon Heyman is reporting interest by a team?
Yep, shocking, Heyman reporting teams with even the slightest interest (If even true) in a Boras client. Always first and mostly semi-accurate with Boras information too!
“…at the same time I wanted a team that was going to be in October, be in the swing of things all year and give me a chance to win.”
I know this was referring to 2023. But if that is still true, this ought to rule out the Mets and the Angels.
Heyman continues to be credibility-challenged.
Yes, only Heyman’s reporting could make us forget the Morosi-Ohtani-plane debacle, and force us to remember the “Arson Judge to the Giants” debacle.
He was saying last year. This year he’s just interested in money.
I thought martinez to the mariners could make sense and theyre much more realistic playoff contenders
Interest is a two-way street. The Angels and Mets can be interested in Martinez, regardless of whether Martinez is interested in either of them.
Also, 1 year at $10 million for the chance to play in October is one thing, while it’s a whole different thing to consider 2 years at $30 million to take the field for a mediocre crew.
The Angels better concern themselves with adding a productive bat and not flexibility for Rendon who has done nothing. Martinez had more RBI than Ohtani– they need him and he’s affordable without surrendering a pick. If they sign him and teoscar hernandez– which they can do and then sign two starters and two bullpen pieces they are right there with everyone else. Will Moreno do it?
As soon as I see a Heyman report about a Boras client, I already know he’s doing his due diligence on behalf of Boras.
So Boras is whispering to Heyman that Los Angeles and New York are interested in (—— fill in the name of client here ——).
That’s page 3 of the Scott Boras playbook.
Jon Heyman’s cry for attention strikes again
He’d be better for the Mets. The Angels have plenty of malingerers that only want to give the least effort.
The good news is that many believe Ron Washington was brought in to kick the deadbeats to the curb. Put up or shut up.
The bad news is that MLBs #1 deadbeat is pencilled in to play 3B for this team.
If Tony 2-Bags ever wakes up from his Cheetohs slumber and Mike Trout looks in the mirror and realizes he can give the Angels more than 400 ABs, then they don’t need JD Martinez. To keep these two “healthy”, they’re going to need substantial DH ABs.
Nukeg,
Rendon is just a millionaire jerk at this point. His shenanigans with the media last year are pitiful.
Rendon has gone through a number of surgeries and had a fracture last year.
It’s ridiculous to repeat the Sam Blum mantra of hate. It is ridiculous to call him a malingerer.
I think we’re seeing players come to the Angels to get money for nothing. Def a trend. The fans are too busy raising their kids or going to Disneyland to care. Any other town/city and Rendon would be roasted. Philly would probably have had him kicked out of the state by now.
Maybe. But a lot of people are upset at Rendon because of how the Angels handled his injury.
It’s the Angels that report injuries, not Rendon.
I have no idea why the Angels withheld Rendon’s fracture. I have no idea why fans are upset with Rendon not answering the questions about his injury.
One thing it proved to me…Sam Blum is an ass.
That’s some serious miscommunication issues with the Angels then…
The worst part of being an Angels fan is having a reporter like Sam Blum stirring stuff up just to make a name for himself and boost Athletic subscriptions.
“Ridiculous to call him a malingerer”….when the shoe fits, wear it. If Rendon is not a malingerer there’s no such thing.
the fracture was the diagnosis of the 5th doctor Rendon saw. If the Angels report what 4 consecutive doctors tell them and a player, they aren’t lying.
The fact of the matter is Rendon went out of his way to antagonize local media. he didn’t just blow them off. It actually took more effort to be a jerk.
He’s fortunate to play for the Angels rather than in NY or Boston.
He’s the most malingering malingerer in the majors.
RAISING their kids?! What savages!!!
How many surgeries does a guy have to have, or how many broken bones before you stop calling him a malingerer.
I think it’s a ridiculous assumption.
He’s not suppose to answer the question. What the hell is he suppose to say when a jerk asks him the same question over and over?
I thought it was a great answer.
“Ridiculous Assumption”?..Have you ever watched a Halos game?…That Rendon won’t be there when you really need him is factual, based on his last few years in Anaheim. Is it an “Assumption” that Rendon has missed over half of Anaheim’s games or is it factual?
Same thing can be said about Trout.
I don’t live in his body. But he’s had three or four surgeries and a fracture. Malingers don’t typically get operated on.
Hey, is Neto a malingerer? He missed a ton of time and no one is operating on him.
Part of being a professional athlete is getting asked questions. If you answer it once you generally don’t keep getting asked it again.
A decent guy would’ve said something like “we’re still looking at it but it I want to play” or something of the sort.
A follow up “any update?” question a couple of weeks later could be answered with a quick “unfortunately, no.”
Rendon, however, walked over to the media area just to tell them he didn’t have to talk to them. He initiated most of the conversation and did so just to antagonize them.
Again, he’s fortunate to play for a team with few beat writers and only one with enough spine to call out the team and players.
Okay, I’ll say this. First hand knowledge that Shohei couldn’t stand to be in the same room as Rendon. Jerk to his teammates. Big leagued the lower level players and the media. The opposite of Shohei.
We all know Shohei was not resigning with the Angels. But if you read between the lines, he constantly stated he wanted to go somewhere where they wanted to win. He viewed Rendon as a cancer to the team, an anchor to the payroll, and if Rendon wore Angel red, no chance (albeit slim anyway) was Shohei coming back.
No this not a bitter, jaded Phil Nevin. LOL.
@Halo11Fan Hey I just found an actual Anthony Rendon supporter, live in the flesh and seemingly not a bot!!! You guys are a rare & endangered species, you must know that. I actually thought all Anthony Rendon supporters went extinct at some point last season after he yelled/swiped at a fan and then came down with his 19th Workers Comp claim. The guy hates baseball and hates baseball fans…
@Trumbo, I’m a Dad with two young boys. I’m one of those Angels fans raising their kids. Hopefully that came across that for various reasons, here in the OC we don’t give a frogs fart whether Rendon is milking Arte (maybe we should, I dunno).
Nukeg, who do you think you are? Mr. Inside Man or something??
What is this business about Shohei not coming back to the Halos because of Rendon. “First hand knowledge” you said. That isn’t good enough. I want sources. Names. #’s. Blood oaths..The whole works!
Last year at Little League Day I walked my son’s team around the track before a game. Rendon was warming up with a trainer but smiled and waived at kids as they walked by.
that’s the most interaction I’ve seen from him. I’ve never seen him sign at Spring Training. But I only go to a couple of games per year and could’ve missed it.
Rendon comes across as a guy who wants to play ball and otherwise be left alone. He definitely dislikes the media and found the one boss who will let him irritate them.
HHJJ, If he smiled and waved at the kids, he’s a good enough guy in my book. He passes the test.
Part of a players job is NOT telling the press he has a fracture. Are you kidding me?
That’s just dumb.
You talked to Ohtani. That the only way you could know with first hand knowledge
I knew he spoke English
First hand sources means Ohtani directly. Other wise it’s not first hand. So Ohtani is his source.
Trumbo. He did screw up in Oakland. If people want to get on him for that, I don’t have an issue with it.
I actually respect him getting suspended sticking up for his teammates. He seems to have his teammates backs.
He’s not on the field. He hates reporters. That seems to describe 98% of the people in this county.
It’s Arte Moreno’s burner account
Or NukeG is bilingual
At least stir up some rumors the Angels might actually target some pitching for gods sake. Their pitching has been bad for years and Ohtani is gone for good. Trout when healthy is still one of the best. If Rendon can come halfway to life this team can score runs but they need to be hyper aggressive on pitching it’s long overdue.
Actually I’m Ippei. LOL.
I did have my suspicions! Appreciate you coming clean and outing yourself. Your identity is safe here with us.
@nukeg Did something happen in 2020 to sour Rendon on Moreno? He put up a 150 OPS+ then, his first season w the Angels.
For a guy with at least an outside shot at the HOF to dog it thereafter just because he didn’t like the owner seems… odd, to say the least. My guess is that the reaction to injuries by the team was unpleasant, which provoke a response from the player in kind rather than that he just didn’t feel like playing any more.
@Jack. Far too often if people dislike someone they create even more reasons to dislike him.
Rendon is not on the field. He has been a total bust. He got suspended for slapping at a fans cap in Oakland.
I’m not sure why that is not enough for some people. They feel the need to invent more.
God, no. The Mets have two players who are only likely to succeed at DH, if anywhere.
And the Mets are considering giving those PA away to a FA? Stumps.
This only makes even a modicum of sense if they’re planning to deal Alonso (they should, of course, since they aren’t contending in 2024 or 2025) and play Vientos and Baty at 1B and 3B in 2024.
JD Martinez should want to play for a contender.
I just wanna see him have another 4 homer game.
In a Diamondbacks jersey. I knew what you meant. Lol
PS. I told you you’d like Drury!
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b That, too, compadre—though it isn’t always the case.
JDM’s made $142 million in his career. Many, even most might think that would mean he’d reject 1/17m from the Mets and take 1/15m from a serious contender, but once you’re rich you get used to being rich and 17m is a lot more than 15m if your expenses are running $400k a month. Going on his sixth team it may simply be a business to him at this point, and one, two, three years of labor is what he has left to sell. He also probably can’t get an NTC and may figure he’ll be dealt to his seventh team, a contender, at the ASB.
Then there’s, who knows how badly or well he’s managed his finances over the last 13 years?
But yeah, if it’s me I’m taking less from a contender especially if it means not working for Moreno or Cohen.
@Jack Thank you as you filled in some insight from the perspective of someone making such ungodly sums of money. $400,000 a month in expenses is fun to think about, and I’m sure with help from an exuberant girlfriend/wife it’s quite realistic haha. The near certainty of being traded at the deadline I hadn’t considered.
Jays go 12 mil a year plus incentives. He can protect vlad Jr.
From what?
“From what”…From all-you-can-eat buffets most likely. It didn’t work with Manaoh but perhaps there’s still time to save Vlade.
You can always tell unserious fans who don’t know that ‘protection’ isn’t really what they claim it is.
Jack, I always bring protection, I always offer protection, sometimes it’s gotta be triple protection, very adamant about protection these days…can never be too careful.
Good man. Protection protects!
(Skewed aside: half of all p*********s in the U.S. are claimed to be accidental. Or, ‘accidental,’ if you like. Young’uns, be warned!)
I do think he can get more on the open market and I am guessing he isn’t ignorant to the probability that he is up for what is probably the final big payday of his playing career.
Also given that it was a substantial “pay cut” and he didn’t produce a ton of WAR for his solid power numbers, he probably won’t be getting a ton more money subsequently. I think 2 years/$47M is his absolute ‘there was a bidding war and some GM *had* to get him’ scenario.
Realistically I think he should get 1 year/$12.5M to 2 years/$33.5M.
Thus he will either get 1 year/$20M or 2 years/$40M, I think.
Almost everybody has been getting overpaid or paid very fairly this off season, so if he’s a guy with a median $12.5M to $20M value, it’ll be very near or reach that $20M price point.
I’m giving up on predicting guys contracts.
Me personally, I think Martinez is worth about 17 million on a one year deal, 30 million on two so I imagine he will get 3/60 unless the Padres are interested in which they will give him 6/80.
He will have his choice of who to play for…
money
still very much in demand because of his performance
nice problem to have
As far as which team who knows????
Boros clients do tend attract money first then years etc
He would be a nice edition for the mets however that choice
is strictly on him not on us
I don’t remember if I posted this or not but I’m not sleeping on the Mets (or padres for that matter). I think Stearns is a great baseball mind and I think he can make some tweaks to get that team to compete.
My only really concern with the Mets is can Stearns undo the damage caused by Billy and Omar (and Cohen).
Signing him back would sell some tickets in Detroit, and they would likely be making the playoffs. HARRIS will likely go with Malloy, who’s at a Mike Illitch price, but JDM is more of a sure thing.
It’s hard to accumulate war points when you don’t play defense
I’m sure teams won’t want JDM because he won’t accumulate defensive WAR. WAR means more than Wins!
JD Martinez is likely a one year deal type guy at this point. I doubt he’s getting any two year deals unless someone REALLY wants to sign him. Maybe one year with a mutual option, but I’d speculate most teams know that his best years are beyond him and that he’s basically nothing more than a DH. I’d be shocked if he got a two year deal guaranteed.
I think teams will overpay for the top ohtani yamamoto types and for quality sp, but i dont think theyll overpay at all for aging DH only players, no matter how good they are. I could be very wrong, but 1-15 is my guess.
Fangraphs’ various sources all have him going for 1/14m or less while putting up 0.6 WAR.
Big year out of the blue at 35, unlikely to repeat, LAD’s special sauce no longer available… Nobody’s giving him a sizable deal.
Except maybe the Angels.
There was nothing “out of the blue” about Martinez’s performance.
He had a “down” year in 2022, for him, which consisted of 42 doubles, a triple and 16 home runs while posting an ops of just under .800. I’d gladly pay 14 million for that production.
@drasco36 Enjoy your 1.1 WAR for $14m. Now thunder about how WAR (which is based on all the stats you believe in) is irrelevant!
Martinez was also miserable in 2020 but, sure, you pick those cherries, son! Tote that barge! Misread those posts!!
“Also given that it was a substantial “pay cut” and he didn’t produce a ton of WAR for his solid power numbers,”
Two things to consider: 1) he only played like 115 games and 2) WAR undersells DHs a bit in my opinion. Dude had a 133 OPS+ with 33 HR (again, in under 120 games). That’s very good, if not great production. The Mets in particular would have benefited in a major way from that kind of production.
@rct If ‘he played only 115 games’ it’s because he couldn’t play more. That’s a knock on the player, not a credit to him.
As for your belief WAR undersells DH’s, there’s no evidence for that. If you’ve got some, though, it would turn WAR—and not just for DH’s—on its head. Please link.
And as for the ‘Mets in particular benefiting from that production,’ it would have gotten them from 75 wins to 76. It would have also denied them their first real look at Baty, Vientos, and Alvarez in the role, and where JDM will not be on the next good Mets team, those three might.
In short signing Martinez for 2024 will be the same kind of blunder it would have been in 2023. Worse, actually, since they KNOW they’re not contending next season, so why on Earth would you ensure you’re not getting a look at one of Baty or Vientos at the MLB level in order to win 77 instead of 76?
Hes Not Going To The Angels Nor The Mets They Aint Playing For Nothing They SUCK
I Honestly Think Arizona Has A Real Shot
Stupid idea for the Angels. They have Trout n Rendon that both need a ton of time at DH. Spend the money on Pitching and LH hitting.
Smart comment thank you
Yeah for sure, Darragh actually nailed it on the Angels here. Which he pretty much leaned the same way.
True but Rendon and Trout will never actually be on the active roster at the same time. They’ll just rotate DL stints.
Angels don’t have anyone to back up trout or rendon if they put them at dh. Jd martinez would help soften the blow of losing ohtani. It’s still being overly optimistic that they can finish with the same record as last year.
Just more click bait for Heyman. The Angels aren’t signing a full time DH. They can sign Justin Turner to sub at 1B and 3B along with DH. He is the kind of clubhouse guy the Angels have lacked for years. They could use a power hitting left handed bat to balance out the lineup.
As a fifty year fan of the Angels I am now becoming a casual fan. I can’t take Arte anymore. He has no clue how to build a successful organization. I expect him to sign Snell to a huge contract which no other teams seem to be interested.
Trout27, I agree with all u have here except. I do have a big hunch that the Angels sign Snell as there big move. It has all the writings of Arte saving face, and finally sacking up to signing a long term ace SP. If he is that guy, we’ll see. But at the end of the day, I’d be up for the gamble, “and people will love him for that” (Gladiator).
My bad Trout27, u said they’d sign Snell. Haha! Spot on, as long as they also sign a big RP piece.
If they don’t make Trout their full-time DH at this point, they’re dumber than rocks.
Schanuel can dh
Play Evan white at first
Umm no thanks. Evan White is the 1B version of Andrew Velazquez. White will likely spend most of his time in triple-A unless Schanuel struggles or regresses. And frankly, I’m more curious to try out Eric Wagaman than White, if they do call up someone.
My dbacks piss ne off with this. he would have had one of the greatest seasons if he played a full year with us. Those man would have had 60 hrs at least. He loves arizona and we don’t sign him
With Trout, Rendon, Rengifo and even Drury, the last thing the Angels need is a full time DH.
I don’t care who the Angels are “interested” in if they can’t close any deals. Sign some pitchers already. We are about 45 days from pitchers and catchers reporting to ST. It’s time to solidify the roster.
Prov, it is getting frustrating. The Angels need two good bullpen arms and a top of the rotation starter.
As far as the starting 9. There are too many question marks to know which question mark will be answered in the negative. Just let 2024 play out and then fill the holes in 2025.
The Angels are unlikely to compete in 2024.
They would’ve made those moves if that’s the plan. Jd might be the best option that they will be looking at. I agree with the bullpen but it’s looking like it’s set, and they need a bat, and a one year or two year deal for jd sounds like the angels.
If the bullpen is set, Minasian has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt he’s an idiot.
You can’t ignore Moreno in that situation, Halo. Minasian, as was true with all other GMs under Moreno, can only do what Moreno allows. Moreno is the guy who does not value pitching and he has proven that fact through many GMs over 20 years. There is no evidence that Minasian acts unilaterally on any decision. Minasian is credited with building Atlanta’s pitching staff so he knows the value of pitching. The only thing I blame Minasian for at this point is not resigning under protest.
They don’t have many spots left, and added three more minor league deals. They might as well trade rengifo,Thaiss, and saurez if teams were calling on them. Not sure if keeping them matters maybe they get lucky on a trade
Agree prov356, Arte doesn’t invest in pitching because they don’t play everyday but will invest in rendon that plays 40 games.
Minasian has spent tens of millions of dollars on the pen, it still stinks.
I know, Halo, but what is your evidence that his bull pen decisions have been made unilaterally, without Moreno’s direction or limitations on spending for pitching? You criticize Minasian as though Moreno has no influence on his decisions when the evidence is vastly contrary based on all previous GMs.
Because I believe everyone knows Arte makes moves base on marketing. And no freaken way Arte’s idea was to bring in Claudio and Guerra.
Minasian has now gone full circle.
Also look at the m’s and the Mets rotation from the previous angels gm’s looks a lot different they don’t have a bunch of Trevor Cahill’s and reclamation projects. Eppler got burnt on verlander and mad max, but that might’ve been cohen pushing for it. For every 1 yr 20 million dollar pitcher, they could’ve got wheeler, cole, Rodon on his giants deal, gausman. Instead we got Cahill, Blanton, Teheran, Quintana, Harvey and Thor.
Can’t agree Halo. That’s not evidence that Minasian is solely responsible for those acquisitions, just speculation. By all accounts spanning his ownership, Moreno has been way too involved in baseball decisions from the day he bought the team. Guys like Claudio and Guerra are evidence that Minasian does not have the authority to make meaningful pitching decisions on his own. If he did, we would have a pitching staff like Atlanta. Minasian has a track record of building a successful pitching staff. Moreno has a track record of ignoring the pitching staff. There’s no evidence to suggest either have changed. Heck, Minasian drafted 20 pitchers a few years ago.
‘Because I believe everyone knows Arte makes moves base on marketing. And no freaken way Arte’s idea was to bring in Claudio and Guerra.”
That’s correct, however, Moreno’s marketing moves are entirely bat driven at the expense of pitching. Claudio and Guerra are the result of that.
@ prov356 The reason why he did that was because it was ignored because pitchers have a higher slot typically instead we were getting catchers or first baseman’s way over the projection, but agree it always comes down to money. Not even saying they have to grab the best free agents, but atleast invest in coaching,scouts and a seasoned gm, agree with you and all fingers point to moreno. I would say pm looks like he’s doing a better job with what he has to deal with.
After the Angels lost all those pitchers in such a short span, one ace was not going to make a difference.
Moreno does some stupid thing, but he’s not the one making these under the radar moves.
No way Moreno is advocating for these RPs.
I don’t think Moreno is advocating for specific pitchers either. What I do think is that he gives Minasian his spending parameters and by default, Minasian has to choose the pitchers he can afford based on the limitations Moreno sets. Moreno knows big bats sell tickets and that’s been his track record of big spending for 20 years.
@prov356 that’s exactly what it is, putting everyone on waivers to get under the tax is a clear indication. Perry hit on estevez, and moore. Missed on Anderson I don’t think he’s terrible most of his draft picks have came up fairly quick o hoppe for marsh seems like a good trade syndergaard for moniak wasn’t bad. But agree every gm has spending perimeters if they didn’t and went all in, might’ve been able to keep ohtani
Yep I agree rex. But personally I’m glad we lost ohtani. I’d rather spend the ohtani money elsewhere. The problem is we aren’t spending it.
Yeah that’s why we lost ohtani because we have a Arte cap, so do they just blow it up with trout and the young pieces. I wouldn’t care if they traded rengifo. He’s alright but sucks at defense.
Arizona could use his bat, and he wants to play for a contender, Arizona is going to be a playoff contender no doubt.
The sabermetrics nerds would prefer that the Mets resign the portly Dan Vogelbach, because he takes up a lot of space. I meant to say, because he gets on base.
I don’t think anyone prefers Vogelbach anymore.
“Anyone prefers Vogelbach”…That’s easy for you to say, you’re not running an all-you-can-eat buffett or a men’s big & tall clothing store.
Why not the Friars? A top 5 core of: Leadoff- Jurickson Profar, (hoping we resign him)….. #2- Fernando Tatis, #3- Machado, Cleanup hitter- Xander Bogy, and JD Martinez could bat fifth for us, and fill the DH slot vacated by Nelson Cruz/Matt Carpenter.
Funny thing about Martinez and his season last year. . .
They report that he was reunited with his former hitting coach but. . .
They didn’t report that soon after joining the Dodgers, he and Mookie recommended J.T. Watkins for a position with the team.
Watkins was the video coordinator for the Red Sox in 2018 who was suspended 12 months for cheating/sign stealing w/technology then the Red Sox rehired him when it was served.
It is worth noting that both had their best seasons since that infamous 2018 season.
Of course they didn’t report it. It doesn’t jibe with the “Astros were the only team that cheated” narrative that the media sells and the fanboys buy.
“Eyeing” is better or worse than “kicking the tires on”? Love the extended recitation about how he could have gotten more.. The guy can hit, he’s going to get paid, but at this stage of his career, it’s going to need a team that sees him as a fit instead of him seeing a team as a fit.
There will be places where those two things overlap
The Dbacks have made 3 outstanding, “WOW” type additions to fill their 4 holes this off-season. Adding J.D. would be a Grand Slam 4 “WOWs”. In the past, money has always been an issue. This year, the Dbacks might just sign Martinez!
JD Martinez to the Rockies? Finish his career with assurance of an overall high as can be batting average numbers from that mountain air in Denver?
Angels interested in (insert person with a pulse here)
Pretty much how it’s gone this offseason. I keep hearing they’re interested in x player but have yet to sign anyone of them.
Still don’t understand why the Yanks didn’t pivot to JD instead of Stanton after initially missing out on Ohtani. He was half the cost and double the production.
Schanuel had a -4 OAA. Rendon -3. So maybe they can be DH and I would rather they take Hoskins to start at 1st and Chapman for 3rd. I’d even take Justin Turner. O’Hoppe isn’t the greatest defensive catcher either so he can DH as well.
I think the Halos would benefit more from signing an outfielder like Teoscar Hernandez (or Bellinger, if they want to make a splash) than JD Martinez. JD is strictly a DH at this point of his career, but signing someone like Hernandez (or Bellinger) would give the Angels flexibility to move around guys like Trout, Rendon, and Drury at the DH spot to give other players (i.e., Moniak, Rengifo) chances to play on a regular basis.
I’m sure spending an extra $150MM+ to sign Bellinger over JDM (1/$15MM) will be worth it since it gets Rengifo into the lineup more often.
A lot of people were also reportedly “eyeing” Tate McRae and Camila Cabello. I’m not sure it means what Arson Heyman thinks it means.
All the best to JD. Dodger fans appreciated his professionalism and total commitment to the team. He will be a great addition to any club and clubhouse that he selects.
I’d much rather sign Teoscar Hernandez and rotate Trout, Teoscar and others through the DH spot.
Even when healthy Rendon has put up an OPS+ of 94 over the last three years. He’ll be 34 next year. Not sure if having a guy put up less than league average offense is ideal from the DH spot.
Arte should just eat the contract and send him packing.
Friars seem to be the highest bidder for Hernandez. Hold your horses big guy. The plan would be to bat Hernandez #5 in our batting order, just behind Xander Bogy (cleanup hitter) and Manny Machado (#3 hitter). (Kim would leadoff if Jurickson Profar isn’t resigned to lead off, and Tatis his usual #2 hole in the batting order.
I have a feeling he has a pretty robust market. Lots of teams will prefer his consistency and price tag to Bellinger’s.
I’d really like the Twins to pursue Martinez, but they’re going to have to clear Polanco and Kepler before that can happen. Complicating things is Falvey making it clear Kirilloff is no longer viewed as a viable outfielder. Not sure why, just I guess that’s the way it is.
I would not give up on the D’Backs signing Martinez, but I also heard here in AZ recently that CJ Cron, or Hoskins could be drawing some interest as a DH and a backup to Walker at first base.
Any Rockies Fans on MLBTR? Seems to be the only team where I don’t see any postings from local Denver Metro area fans. On that note (if anything to generate a response from any ROX fans on here). JDM to the Denver Rockies, anyone?
It’s a tough time to be a Rockies fan. I follow the team a little, but not too closely. There’s really not a lot to be excited about.
I sure hope we land Soler for DH in the desert!
The Tigers should pay the guy what he wants, sign him and trade him, keeping Greene downstairs to recover at ease.
Instead, watch the econo geniouses not spend the money, push Greene, re-injure him and ruin his career.
Tiger fans have to face the fact that the team is being run by a CAB.
The Central is rolling over and they refuse to grab the reins……
Tiger players currently on the 40 certainly would abhor being traded to….the Dodgers.
Gee, that would be terrible.
I disagree. The outfield is crowded enough and Martinez would be redundant. The team has Canha and Carpenter available for a righty/ lefty platoon at DH. Detroit already has a pile of versatile position players who need regular at bats. No reason to clog things up further.
The Blue Jays would appear to be the most logical fit to replace some of the lost production from Chapman and Belt.
Carpenter is the RF. I’m sure he will get some time at DH, but he’s not a Castellanos in the OF. Meadows in CF, and how healthy Greene is will determine LF and DH. Canha will get some time in the OF, and at DH. I see Baddoo being traded if Greene can play the OF. Malloy is DH when Canha is in LF. Line up would look stronger with JDM at DH.
There are too many moving parts that play multiple positions to sign a DH only. If Nevin steps in at third or Keith gets promoted, Vierling may have to move back to the outfield, which would leave him, Carpenter, Canha and Baddoo all competing for starts in LF. Also, I was under the impression Riley Greene is starting in RF.
How about them Dodgers❓
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Back at ya‼️
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I haven’t read all the comments so this may have been mentioned, but, as noted in the article, I would prefer to see the Angels use the DH slot to rest Trout and Rendon regularly.
Rest Rendon? Seriously? That’s all he’s done since he signed. DHing requires a player, not a ghost.
The Mets are the Pirates with money
Easy to have a resurgence with the Dodgers. The Dodgers recieve a juiced ball and favorable strike zone to go with an unending budget.
Look at Tyler Anderson and Trayce Thompson as examples of what happens when you leave LA.
MLB loves the Dodgers.
Seatle type of move. Or maybe the Rays
which ever team gets JD should be pumped, he is a pro & helps out the younger hitters. A definite plus to any team. Loved him while with the Bosox.
The Mets should get a younger DH, like Soler or Hoskins especially that they can still play the field unlike JD
I would love to get JD and Bellinger but why would any decent free agent want to play for the Mets? Giolito, who is 50% of what he was went to Boston.
Since the Mets don’t seem to be pursuing good pitching, they need to pick up some boppers like JD, Bellinger, Soler, etc. Then they may have some 12-11 wins.
No way Martinez is coming to Anaheim. Plesac is the type of player who is. No one will take the Angels seriously until Arte sells the team. In the meantime only losers will voluntarily come here. The bloom came off Trout when Shohei arrived and now that Shohei is gone it’s never coming back.