The Mets are going to hire J.D. Martinez as a special advisor to baseball operations, reports Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Though there’s no mention of retirement, Martinez is now 38 years old and hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2024, so this seems to signal that he is moving into his post-playing days.
Martinez had a long stretch as one of the best hitters in the majors but it didn’t always seem like it would play out that way. He was drafted by the Astros with a 20th-round pick back in 2009. He made it to the big leagues in 2011 but didn’t immediately flourish. By the end of the 2013 season, he had taken 975 trips to the plate but had produced a tepid .251/.300/.387 line. That resulted in an 87 wRC+, indicating he was 13% worse than league average. Martinez was a corner outfielder without much speed, so it was hard for him to provide value when he wasn’t hitting. The Astros gave up, releasing Martinez in March of 2014.
He was scooped up by the Tigers, who signed him to a minor league deal. That allowed Detroit to benefit from Martinez breaking out offensively. He hit ten home runs in 17 Triple-A games to begin the season and was up in the majors three weeks into April. He hit 23 more home runs in the big leagues that year, slashing .315/.358/.553. He added two more long balls in the postseason, though the Tigers were eliminated by the Orioles in the ALDS.
The Tigers’ competitive window closed, though Martinez continued to perform. He hit another 38 home runs in 2015 while putting up a .282/.344/.535 line. He was selected to his first All-Star team that summer and went on to win a Silver Slugger award. In 2016, he missed time due to an elbow injury and only got into 120 games but still hit another 22 home runs and slashed .307/.373/.535.
In 2017, Martinez was an impending free agent and the Tigers were in rough shape, as they would eventually lose 95 games that year. That made Martinez a logical summer trade chip, so he was flipped to the Diamondbacks for Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcántara and Jose King.
It was a tremendous pick-up for the Snakes, as Martinez went on a torrid power binge. He hit 29 home runs in just 67 games for Arizona down the stretch, including a four-homer game on September 4th, the 18th instance of a four-homer game in major league history. He helped the Snakes win 93 games and make the playoffs, though they were ultimately knocked out by the Dodgers in the NLDS.
He finished the season with 45 home runs overall and a combined .303/.376/.690 line, giving him a fantastic platform for free agency. The midseason trade also helped, as it meant he was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer. The Red Sox gave him a $110MM deal over five years to get him to Fenway, with opt-outs after the second, third and fourth years.
The deal paid immediate dividends for Boston. Martinez hit 43 home runs for them in 2018, helping mount a strong .330/.402/.629 line. The team won 108 games and then cruised through the postseason, never losing more than one game in a series. Martinez added three playoff home runs with a .300/.403/.520 line as the Sox won the World Series for the fourth time in the 15-year span which started in 2004.
Martinez continued hitting over the course of his deal, except in the shortened 2020 season, but never used his opt-outs. He played out the entirety of the five-year pact with Boston, launching 130 home runs with a .292/.363/.526 batting line.
He returned to free agency but was limited to short-term offers ahead of his age-35 season. He signed a one-year, $10MM deal with the Dodgers for 2023. He hit 33 home runs but saw his strikeout rate jump to 31.1%, four points above his previous career high. The Dodgers won 100 games but were defeated by the Diamondbacks in the NLDS.
Martinez then joined the Mets for the 2024 season via a one-year deal, signed late in March. That was technically worth $12MM but with notable deferrals. Martinez lowered his strikeout rate by a few ticks relative to the prior season but saw his home run total essentially halved to 16, in roughly the same number of plate appearances. The Mets won 89 games and progressed as far as the NLCS before losing to the Dodgers.
Shortly after the Mets were eliminated, Martinez revealed that he thought about hanging up his spikes when he remained unsigned deep into the 2023-24 offseason.“Here I am, the team’s breaking in five days, and I don’t even have a team yet,” he said. “Your brain goes into a weird mode, where you’re like ‘Am I playing? Am I not? Am I playing? Am I not? Is this it? Am I retired?'” Going into 2025, his name popped up in some rumors but he didn’t sign anywhere and sat out the season.
Now it seems Martinez is moving into the next phase of his career. Assuming his playing days are over, he finishes his career with 6,865 plate appearances in 1,642 games played. He racked up 1,741 hits, including 331 home runs. He scored 897 runs and drove in 1,071. He made six All-Star teams, won three Silver Slugger awards and one World Series ring. FanGraphs credits him with 32.1 wins above replacement, with Baseball Reference putting him a bit lower at 30.8 WAR. B-Ref pegs his career earnings just under $154MM. He had an incredible six-year peak from 2014 to 2019 during which he slashed .307/.373/.581. His 151 wRC+ for that span was topped only by Mike Trout, among hitters with at least 2,000 plate appearances.
We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Martinez on his excellent career and wish him the best as he pivots to the next phase of his life.
Photos courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Rick Osentoski, Kim Klement, Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Special advisor to Paul Reiser
He was awful his last 5 seasons, so enjoy that guidance, Mets players.
He was an all star 5 times in his final 6 seasons (excluding covid year), he just had the one bad season with the Mets to end his career
My gosh which one is it?
They’re prob more interested in his advice regarding winning trophies, not so much swan song storytelling. But you know that.
Baseball is still hard, even if your mechanics are perfect. J.D. might not have been up in his later years physically, but it appears the Mets would like for his assistance in helping younger players.
He was also on the 2024 team, so they probably hired him because Jose Iglesias is still playing.
As a Dodger Fan he was great in 2023 fell victim to him being a stop gap year until Ohtani I would take 270/33/100 any year. Sad he didn’t get a mutli year offer going into 2024 cause his numbers were there in 2023
@Trillionare: Dude had a 122 OPS+ in his last four seasons, which includes his poor final season. You just love being wrong, don’t you?
rct
“You just love being wrong, don’t you?”
Trolls get attention for being negative because they can’t say anything interesting to get attention for
for about 10 years he was 1 of the best hitters.
2014-2023 averaged 37 hr, 111 rbi, .293 avg, 41 doubles, 98 runs per 162 games
good luck in this next chapter JD
forgot to mention he went to the postseason with 5 different teams (won WS with redsox). he brought winning vibes everywhere he went
The Manny Ramirez of the next generation. One of the top 5 right handed hitters in the games history.
I guess his wife told him to find something to do.
Ha ha ha yes! Bad wife! Get in the kitchen, amirite???
Welcome to the Hall of Pretty Good J.D.
When he was with the Mets he complained that his new shoes were causing him problems. It turned out he got new shoes from Adidas and changed to a different pair every three days. Look it up – July 2024. A shipment was late and he had to get a pair from Amazon. Joe Jackson once got shoes that did not fit, so he played without them. And thus a legend was born. BTW if you are ever in Greenville, SC the Shoeless Joe Jackson museum is a marvelous 90 minute visit, staffed by some really enthusiastic volunteers (mostly retired fans). And it’s a very short walk to their minor league park. Open on Saturdays from 10-2.
haha, I remember that. And great suggestion on the Shoeless Joe museum. If I ever make it down there again, I will check it out. The Ty Cobb museum is Georgia is supposed to be great, too.
A lot of times you get retired instead of retiring. Actually, a great majority of times.
There’s levels to this. I wouldn’t consider putting JD in that bucket. He was a star. Father Time is undefeated, but it’s not like he was awful for 5 years before hanging them up.
Class act. Wishing him well as an executive
I wanted the Mets to hire him as the hitting coach, and this might help even more.
He should be allowed to pinch hit once a week without being rostered. Because reasons.
He filled awn Ortiz sized hole in our lineup, if not in our hearts.
2018 Red Sox considered him the team MVP for his leadership and mentoring. That is the year Mookie won the MVP