The Rangers recently made an offer to slugger J.D. Martinez in hopes of acquiring a bat to bolster their struggling offense, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’s a non-guaranteed pact, which seems unlikely to entice Martinez, who is still working out and staying in game shape in the event that an offer to his liking comes along, per Heyman.
Martinez had a seemingly quiet offseason, as was the case in the 2023-24 offseason until the Mets swooped in with a late major league offer. No such deal came around this time, but he said as recently as Jan. 31 that he was intent on playing in 2025 and apparently is keeping the door open for a second-half return.
Martinez, 37, was the Mets’ primary designated hitter last year and turned in a .235/.320/.406 line (108 wRC+) with 16 home runs, 24 doubles and a triple. It was decent production but a far cry from the 33-homer season Martinez enjoyed in just 113 games with the Dodgers just one season prior, in 2023.
While last year’s overall performance constitutes a “down” season by Martinez’s lofty standards, there are reasons to think his results could have or even should have been better than they were. He upped his walk rate from 7.1% in ’23 to 9.9% last year — his highest mark since 2019 — and cut his strikeout rate from 2023’s 31.1% down to 28.5%. That’s still considerably higher than average but a step in the right direction.
Martinez’s batted-ball metrics remained strong, too. He averaged 91 mph off the bat, barreled nearly 15% of his batted balls and saw 45.5% of his batted balls register an exit velocity of at least 95 mph. All of those numbers are well above league-average. Statcast pegged Martinez’s “expected” batting average at .256 and his “expected” slugging percentage at .472 — vast improvements over his actual marks of .235 and .406.
It’s plenty understandable that Texas would inquire about the possibility of bringing in Martinez. No team in baseball has received less production from the DH spot than the Rangers in 2025. Texas designated hitters are batting just .167/.249/.277 on the season. The bulk of that has come from Joc Pederson, who struggled immensely before suffering a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch in late May. He’s currently on the injured list and will be for at least another few weeks.
Even if nothing winds up coming together with the Rangers, their offer to Martinez is a reminder that one of the game’s most prolific power hitters in recent years remains unsigned and, apparently, is still open to suiting up for the final few months of the 2025 campaign.
Any playoff hopeful without a locked-in designated hitter could contemplate a run at Martinez, although there are roster considerations that must be factored in for any such club. Many (most) teams rotate several players through their DH spot as a means of maximizing matchups, keeping regulars fresh and/or alleviating logjams (e.g. four outfielders for three outfield spots). Bringing Martinez into the fold might not be an easy fit for every club, but the veteran slugger and his .268/.334/.486 slash over the past four seasons make for an intriguing upgrade for teams seeking offense but unwilling or unable to find sufficient help on the trade market.
I’d prefer JD to stay a FA so I can keep signing him to the Mariners in franchise mode startups on the show.
His balls would absolutely die in ol’ safeco and he would have horrible stats
At the same time though it would be funny to have another Mitch garver
His balls would absolutely die?
My lord, how sad.
Come to think of it figuratively and literally both work, I too would shrivel up hitting in such a cold, scary park
sad – Especially if it’s after going in the pool.
@sad tormented,
If his balls die, you wouldn’t have another Mitch Garver. You’d have another Mitch Haniger.
Junior having Safeco play the nutcracker for Beltre’s walk-up music first game back after “crushing his right testicle” is next level “you gotta love these guys”
Now this is someone who is paying attention to all kinds of mlb trivia. Although Haniger doesn’t think it’s trivial.
Except “Safeco” is now called T-Mobile Park.
Thanks T-Mobile PR department. /s
My apologies. Furthermore, the Mariner’s slogan that year was not “You gotta love these guys” either.
Thank you, Chuck from Jersey, for keeping everyone honest. A new day, a new way
I just interviewed J.D. Martinez, one of the best hitters in baseball.
Here’s how he went from being cut by the worst team in baseball to becoming an All-Star:
If he could play the field at all I would say Boston should try again with him, but not worth it for a dh
Can he play first base for the Red Sox?
hayzee – Ortiz could teach him, since he seems to think he was a real first baseman with the Red Sox.
The article says Rangers. Try to keep up.
If you rearrange the letters in Rangers, it spells Red Sox. Seek nay my friend seek nay.
Where the hell are the Royals?!
@cottman3
4th place
Still in Kansas City with an unappealing home stadium and limited budget for experienced mlb hitters.
This seems like a padres move since they can’t have enough of the cheap veteran players
Heyward is gone so maybe Martinez can come replace him
Why give JD 6 million when you can give Santander 20 for each of the next 5 years. Santander can almost play defense too
Almost and declining. Year 5 should be interesting.
If they end up selling, Marcel Ozuna would fit their need.
Towards the end of the season with the Mets, JD seemed to run out of gas, so I’d question how much he’s bringing to the table with half a season already in and he’s going to need to ramp up in the minors to get his Spring Training work done…
I guess it wouldn’t be as many games as last year so maybe he would hold up longer into the season
Bob – Just a friendly reminder, JD didn’t start hitting with the Mets until mid-May. He had a .635 OPS after 13 games.
As much as I’ve always liked JD, I wouldn’t sign him at this point in the season. It might be almost as bad as last year’s Rich Hill Experiment.
This dude should have been signed months ago by someone
White Sox should have kicked the tires, he would have been a good chip to trade at the deadline, not unlike DeJong.
@bob
At what price, though? If he’s okay getting paid like a guy who can’t contribute defensively so his only contribution would be offense, and he’s declining offensively, then yes, he should have absolutely been offered a $2-5mm contract and taken it.
But if he’s declining offensively and hoping to get paid, say $10mm+, then no, he should not have been signed months ago.
By the playoffs last season JD looked cooked. I can understand teams having a level of interest in him but i can also understand not wanting to give him a guaranteed deal, which you would think he would understand too.
I’d like to see him sign with Diamondbacks just to see if he could have a similar second half run with them that he had in 2017
JD went bonkers when he was traded to Arizona that year. It’s also been a while since that awesome showing, not sure how much is left in the tank.
I’m sure numerous teams have inquired.
Great plant by his agent using an organization that is notoriously internally quite about their desires.
I’m notoriously quiet about my desires too.
I’m not I enjoy punishment 🙂
(Bc I’m a lifelong NY Jets fan)
Sorry for your losses. All of them…
Sorry about your starting pitchers, all of them 😄
@CravenMoorehead
red, Red, RED!!!!
I’m laughing through the pain. Good one.
So you’re telling me they made an offer to JD Martinez, one of the best hitters in baseball?
Thought the Friars should have been in contact with JD since the beginning of the season
I interviewed JD Martinez, one of the best hitters in baseball.
He went from being cut by the worst team in baseball to becoming an All-Star – in an unconventional way (that everyone can learn from).
Check out the interview here:
Hello Royals????!!!
There shouldn’t be a comma before “too.” And putting them around “apparently” is wrong too. It should be “… remains unsighed, and apparently is still open…”