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J.D. Martinez

Red Sox Notes: Martinez, Devers, Sale

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The five-year contract that the Red Sox signed with J.D. Martinez is now just a few months away from completion, as the slugger will be heading into free agency at the end of this season. He recently spoke with Rob Bradford of WEEI about the possibility of signing an extension and essentially said that it’s not something he thinks about much.

“That’s a Scott question. I trust Scott,” Martinez said, in reference to his agent, Scott Boras. “If Scott came to me and said, ‘Hey, this is a good deal, I think you should do it.’ I would say, ‘Let’s do it.’ If Scott says, ‘No, I think you should wait until free agency,’ then I will wait until free agency.”

Martinez is on pace to have the best season of his career at the age of 34, as he is currently hitting .380/.430/.599 (coming into tonight’s game). That production amounts to a wRC+ of 197, or 97% better than league average, easily eclipsing his career high 170 from 2018, his first year in Boston. That also places him third among qualified hitters in all of baseball going into tonight’s action, trailing only Mike Trout and Aaron Judge.

With that incredible level of production, it would be understandable for his eyes to turn into dollar signs, but that’s not where his head is at. “I don’t know if I’m the only person but I never think about any of this crap,” Martinez said. “I only think about what I have to do. I hired the best people to advise me in that situation. That’s it. You’ve known me for five years now and it’s the same answers after a good game or a bad game. It never changes. I’m the most boring interview. That’s just how my mind works.”

More notes from Beantown…

  • Another key member of the Red Sox lineup is Rafael Devers. Unlike Martinez, he’s just 25 years old and is still a year and a half away from free agency. Reportedly, he and the team were far apart in Spring Training extension talks, though that door doesn’t appear to be closed. “Growing up as a kid, this was my favorite team. To be able to sign with this club, it meant a lot,” Devers tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. “We had those [contract] talks during spring training and they didn’t work out. But when the time is right, we’ll have those discussions after the season and see where it goes from there, because obviously I love this place. I want to be here and it’s just a matter of just finding the right formula.” Like Martinez, Devers is also on pace to have his best season yet, as he’s hitting .335/.366/.600 for a wRC+ of 176. He also might have improved on the other side of the ball, as the advanced defensive metrics aren’t quite as pessimistic on his work this year as last year. It’s been suggested that Devers might have to move off third base eventually due to poor glovework, with Outs Above Average giving him a -13 last year, while Defensive Runs Saved also gave him -13 and Ultimate Zone Rating landed at -5.5. This year, those numbers are currently at -1, -1 and +1, with over a quarter of the season in the books.
  • A big wildcard for the remainder of Boston’s season is what they will get from Chris Sale moving forward. The lefty has been out of action all year due to a stress fracture in his rib cage. Speier reports that the team still expects Sale to return as a starter, with the club hoping he can ramp up relatively quickly because his injuries aren’t related to his arm. Manager Alex Cora told reporters, including Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, that Sale threw a 25-pitch bullpen today. The next steps will be to throw a few more times before going out on a rehab assignment and building back up to game shape. Pitchers are allowed to rehab for 30 days, so it seems like Sale has a shot at returning by July, though that will depend on how things progress between now and then.

Red Sox Notes: Martinez, Bogaerts, Vazquez, Sale, Paxton

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J.D. Martinez’s five-year, $110MM deal with the Red Sox is up at season’s end, and the slugger again made clear this weekend that he’d love to return (link via Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe). “Would I love to stay here?” Martinez asked rhetorically. “Yeah. I’ve expressed that to ownership.” Martinez added that he told the Sox he was “really open” to an extension as far back as the 2019-20 offseason. However, he also acknowledged that, as far as contract talks are concerned, “nothing has really happened since I got here.” Martinez further noted that if a Boston reunion isn’t in the cards, he’s at least excited to have a wider range of potential suitors thanks to the advent of the universal designated hitter.

While many nine-figure free agent deals prove regrettable by the time they draw to a close, Martinez has been a mostly sound investment for the Sox. Although he struggled in the shortened 2020 season, he boasts an overall .298/.369/.548 batting line with 118 home runs through 2296 plate appearances since signing his deal. That includes a huge .321/.370/.541 line (164 wRC+) to begin the 2022 campaign. Martinez will turn 35 in August, but his bat isn’t showing many signs of slowing down even as he enters his mid-30s. Boston has about $92.5MM in guaranteed money on the books in 2023, but $20MM of that is allocated to Xander Bogaerts, who is all but a lock to exercise an opt-out in his contract (barring an extension).

More out of Boston…

  • While Bogaerts is almost certainly ticketed for the open market at the end of the season, the star shortstop left open the possibility of in-season extension talks over the weekend. His agent Scott Boras downplayed those chances, telling Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) that extension talks with the Sox won’t take place during the regular season. Whether behind-the-scenes discussions take place or not, it has never seemed likely the sides will come to an agreement after they were extremely far apart in Spring Training. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last month that Boston had offered an additional one year and $30MM to convince Bogaerts to forego his opt-out possibility. That’s well shy of the three-time All-Star’s likely market value, and Bogaerts implied over the weekend the team would have to significantly raise their offer were they to try to reignite talks. “I don’t know how this would work,” he said.”But if they talk to Scott behind closed doors and it’s something that’s fair, he can come to me. We’ll see how that goes.
  • The Red Sox “were quietly shopping” Christian Vazquez over the winter but (obviously) never lined up with a potential trade partner, writes Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic in her latest mailbag column. Boston exercised a $7MM club option on the 32-year-old catcher at the end of the 2021 season but was also reported to be heavily in the mix for Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings over the winter — before he was ultimately instead traded to Miami. Vazquez slugged 23 homers in the “juiced ball” season in 2019 and had a stronger 2020 campaign (on a rate basis). However, he’s struggled to a .252/.302/.344 output in 583 subsequent plate appearances (2022 included). McCaffrey suggests that if the Sox don’t right the ship, Vazquez could again be a trade candidate this summer, which would leave prospect Connor Wong and veteran Kevin Plawecki as the team’s primary catchers. Of course, Plawecki himself is a free agent at season’s end and could change hands in such a scenario — assuming he can bounce back from the dreadful .139/.179/.167 slash he’s posted through his first 40 plate appearances.
  • Injured Sox ace Chris Sale, who is on the 60-day IL with a stress fracture in his rib cage, has been cleared to begin throwing and is playing catch, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. At last check, Sale wasn’t throwing and was dealing with a non-baseball, non-Covid related medical issue, but it seems he’s put that past him and is officially progressing toward a return to the mound. The seven-time All-Star has thrown just 42 2/3 innings since the conclusion of the 2019 season, primarily due to Tommy John surgery. Speier also notes that fellow southpaw James Paxton is still receiving treatment and has yet to begin throwing as he works back from 2021 Tommy John surgery. The Sox announced earlier this month that Paxton was dealing with continued soreness in his elbow.

AL East Notes: Mancini, Means, JDM, Marwin

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The Orioles haven’t engaged either first baseman/designated hitter Trey Mancini or lefty John Means about a contract extension, reports Dan Connolly of The Athletic. Mancini is set to become a free agent at season’s end. Means is controlled through 2024.

It’s wholly unsurprising, as the Orioles haven’t had an appetite for any long-term investments during their ongoing rebuild. Even the one-year, $7MM deal they agreed to with right-hander Jordan Lyles prior to the lockout was seen as a surprise, as the O’s hadn’t previously given out more than a $3MM guarantee to any free agent since hiring general manager Mike Elias more than three years ago.

Still, as Connolly explores, the lack of an extension and the seemingly inevitable trade of Mancini — be it in the next couple weeks or this summer — will be a wildly unpopular move both among fans and in the clubhouse. Mancini, the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year, was already a fan favorite in Baltimore before overcoming stage-3 colon cancer and returning to the field with a generally productive 2021 season. He’s also entrenched as a clubhouse leader in Baltimore. The O’s will start spending money at some point once they’re ready to emerge from what’s now a four-year tanking effort, but at the moment they project to just a $64.5MM payroll — $23MM of which is dead money still owed to Chris Davis.

More from the AL East…

  • Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez will likely see increased time in the outfield this season, writes Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. While Martinez will continue to operate as Boston’s primary designated hitter, manager Alex Cora also said this week that Martinez will likely start in right field against left-handed pitchers — effectively pushing Jackie Bradley Jr. (who’ll start in right field against right-handed pitchers) into a platoon role. There won’t be a set DH on days against left-handed opponents, as Cora said he’ll use those opportunities to keep others in the lineup fresh. Martinez has played primarily left field when he’s been on the outfield grass in recent years, but Cotillo notes that Cora’s preference is to keep Alex Verdugo in left, Enrique Hernandez in center, and not move the outfielders around so frequently.
  • Veteran utilityman Marwin Gonzalez is in camp with the Yankees on a minor league deal, and manager Aaron Boone tells Dan Martin of the New York Post he hopes the switch-hitting Gonzalez will play his way into a roster spot, citing a desire for more versatility off his bench. “That’s something I think Tampa [Bay] has done a really good job of,” said Boone. “Their roster complements one another really well. I hope that’s the case with us.” Meanwhile, Newsday’s Erik Boland tweets that Gonzalez is “all but a lock” to make the Yankees’ roster despite having inked a minor league contract. The recent agreement to expand rosters to 28 players for the early portion of the season certainly can’t hurt Gonzalez’s chances. He’d earn a $1.15MM salary if he’s added to the big league roster.

J.D. Martinez Does Not Opt Out Of Contract With Red Sox

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J.D. Martinez has declined to exercise the opt-out provision in his contract and will therefore remain with the Red Sox for 2022, as reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. His original five-year deal with the club prior to the 2018 season contained three opt-outs: after the second, third and fourth years of the deal. Martinez has now declined to opt out for a third consecutive year and will play out the final season of the contract on a salary of $19.35MM.

This was a decision that really could have gone either way, as Martinez himself admitted in September that he was “right in the middle” about it. On the one hand, Martinez bounced back from an awful showing in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign with a solid performance in 2021. His slash line this year was .286/.349/.518, good enough for a wRC+ 128 and 2.9 fWAR. There is also the fact that a universal DH is widely expected to be implemented for next year, which would open up the slugger’s market considerably, since he’s primarily a DH and only suited to occasional outfield duty. (He played 148 games this season but only took the field in 38 of them.)

But on the other hand, the Collective Bargaining Agreement is expiring December 1st, creating an offseason with a high degree of uncertainty and the potential for a labour stoppage or transaction freeze. Furthermore, if Martinez opted out of his $19.35MM guarantee, he would certainly be offered an $18.4MM qualifying offer by the Red Sox, meaning the 34-year-old would be wading into that uncertain market with draft pick forfeiture attached to him, thus dampening his earning potential.

Martinez will now stick around Boston for one more year as the Red Sox try to repeat their surprising 92-win campaign that carried them all the way to the ALCS. He figures to be the regular DH and occasionally manning the field to give a breather to regulars Enrique Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe and Alex Verdugo. If he has another strong year at the plate, he would certainly be a candidate to receive a qualifying offer a year from now, assuming that system survives the upcoming CBA negotiations in tact.

MLBTR Poll: Will J.D. Martinez Opt Out?

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With all but two teams eliminated and the offseason proper fast approaching, focus across much of baseball has shifted to 2022, particularly given an unusually strong free agent class and an uncertain (and volatile) labor situation. As previously noted by MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk, this means the resurfacing of what’s become an annual question: will J.D. Martinez exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with the Red Sox?

This will be Martinez’s third and final opportunity to opt out of the front-loaded five-year/$110MM deal he signed with Boston following the 2017 season. That call was probably never on the table last year, thanks to a less-than-stellar showing (.680 OPS, more than 200 points below his career average) in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. It was a live possibility after 2019, though, when he put together a .304/.383/.557 line on the heels of a monster .330/.402/.629 mark in 2018. He has one year and $19.375MM left on his deal and is essentially a lock to receive a qualifying offer (set for $18.4MM) should he choose to test the market.

Following a bounceback 2021 (.286/.349/.518 in 634 plate appearances) that saw Martinez return to roughly his career averages, the opt-out is again a real option, though it does not come without potential downside. Martinez told WEEI’s Rob Bradford in late September that he’s “right in the middle” on the decision. While it’s entirely possible that his public statements are mere posturing, there are good reasons for Martinez to waffle on a decision that would require him to leave significant guaranteed money on the table without a clear picture of what the market or labor situation are likely to look like. The rumor mill is split on the issue, with Ken Rosenthal suggesting (on the Athletic Baseball Show) that he expects Martinez to exercise the clause while Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe is less convinced, particularly given the uncertain state of the universal DH.

On one hand, the 34-year-old Martinez has an enviable track-record (his .881 career OPS ranks 10th among active players) and proved in 2021 that his bat still has enough pop to make any lineup stronger. Indeed, Martinez’s would-be walk year showed few significant signs of decline; he maintained a K% and BB% (23.7% and 8.7%) roughly in line with both his career marks and MLB averages and a hard-hit rate (defined as the percentage of balls in play with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) of 49.4% that falls only just below his career mark of 50.8% and well above the MLB average of 38.7%. He also stayed mostly healthy, playing in 148 regular-season and nine postseason games for the Red Sox, though a late-season ankle sprain did keep him out of Boston’s AL Wild Card matchup with the Yankees.

On the other, Martinez’s defensive limitations don’t necessarily limit him to DH-only status but do make it unlikely any team would bank on playing him in the outfield on more than an occasional basis. While he was solid in limited defensive action in 2021 (2 defensive runs saved in 36 games), his career numbers tell a different story (-38 DRS, though 35 of these came in right field), and he hasn’t seen action in the outfield more than 60 times in a season since a poor showing (-18 DRS) across 118 games in right for Detroit in 2016. The probable introduction of the DH to the National League in the new CBA likely expands his market but does little to extend his on-field value.

With significant but mostly one-dimensional production, Martinez’s decision isn’t the easiest. Arguably a top-20 free agent in a strong class, Martinez is likely to receive some multi-year offers, but it’s unlikely many GMs will be eager to give a player with limited defensive value and nearing the back half of his 30s anything remotely approaching the deal he signed with the Red Sox — particularly as it will also cost them a draft pick. Another front-loaded deal is a real possibility, but teams will likely ask Martinez to take a cut in AAV for any significant length.

Accordingly, the question likely comes down to which Martinez values more: his short-term salary or a longer-term guarantee. Will Martinez bet on himself to put up another strong year and hit the market next offseason in a similar situation, or will he try to cash in on his strong 2021 and seek a longer deal?

 

(Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)

J.D. Martinez Returns To Red Sox’ ALDS Roster; Matt Barnes Left Off

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The Red Sox announced their roster for their American League Division Series showdown against the Rays this morning, revealing that they’ll have slugger J.D. Martinez available to them for the best-of-five set. Martinez was omitted from Boston’s Wild Card roster after he tripped over second base and sprained his ankle in the final game of the regular season, but he’s apparently healthy enough to return to DH duties after a few days of downtime.

Of greater surprise, however, is that the Red Sox opted to leave right-hander Matt Barnes off the roster for this particular series. Barnes, who signed a two-year extension in July after a dominant three-month start to the season, wilted down the stretch and lost his grip on the team’s closer role.

It was a true tale of two seasons for the 31-year-old Barnes, who posted a 2.25 ERA and a massive 42 percent strikeout rate through his first 44 innings this season before collapsing with a 10.13 ERA in his final 10 2/3 innings (over a span of 16 appearances). Barnes saw his strikeout rate plummet to 26.7 percent as his 6.8 walk rate jumped to 15 percent in that time. After allowing only four homers through his first 44 innings, he yielded four more in those final 10 2/3 innings. Given that context, it’s understandable that Barnes would miss the cut, but such a scenario never would’ve seemed fathomable less than two months ago, when he put pen to paper on a two-year, $18.75MM extension.

Here’s how Boston’s roster breaks down…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Infielder/Outfielder

It’s also of note that Santana has been added to the roster. The switch-hitting speedster has been on the Covid-related injured list since Sept. 10, but the Red Sox opened a roster spot for him yesterday by outrighting shortstop Jose Iglesias (who wasn’t postseason-eligible because he signed mid-September). Santana will give the Sox some speed, a bit of pop and plenty of defensive versatility — but it wasn’t a productive 2021 season for him overall. In 127 plate appearances, Santana batted just .181/.252/.345 with five homers and four stolen bases.

Also dropped from the roster for this round were center fielder Jarren Duran, catcher Connor Wong and infielder Jonathan Arauz. Those subtractions help to pave the way for the addition of Chris Sale and Martin Perez, who weren’t on the Wild Card roster. Sale pitched in the season finale and wouldn’t have been an option in the Wild Card game, but he’ll be expected to start during the Division Series. That said, it’ll be Eduardo Rodriguez getting the ball for Game 1 against the Rays and lefty Shane McClanahan.

Red Sox Outright Jose Iglesias, Yairo Munoz

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The Red Sox have outrighted infielders Jose Iglesias and Yairo Munoz, according to a team announcement. This now leaves their 40-man roster at 39, giving them the opportunity to potentially make an addition before tomorrow’s ALDS kick-off. (Munoz had been on the COVID-19 related injured list since September 1st and thus wasn’t taking up a roster spot.)

Subtracting Iglesias from the roster isn’t terribly surprising, since he is unable to play for the club again this season anyhow on account of being signed after the August 31st deadline. Players joining an organization after that date are ineligible for postseason play with their new club. Iglesias was released by the Angels September 3rd and signed with the Red Sox September 6th. He is also heading into free agency after the postseason, making it a formality to cut him loose a bit early.

The club could now potentially add a player from their minor league system to the 40-man roster for postseason eligibility. Players in the organization but not on the 40-man roster before September 1 can still participate in the playoffs via a petition to the Commissioner’s Office, a fairly common maneuver throughout the league.

Another roster question hanging over the club is whether or not J.D. Martinez will be on it. The slugger hurt his ankle recently and was left off the roster for the Wild Card game. As noted by Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Martinez took the field today and “tested his ankle at low intensity.” When Martinez was asked if he would play tomorrow, he gave the noncommittal answer, “You’ll find out.” Of course, any player that the Red Sox could potentially call up would pale in comparison to a healthy Martinez, who had yet another excellent season at the plate, hitting .286/.349/.518, for a wRC+ of 128.

J.D. Martinez Not On Red Sox’ Wild Card Roster

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The Red Sox have announced their roster for tonight’s Wild Card showdown with their archrival New York Yankees. Perhaps most notably, slugging outfielder J.D. Martinez has been left off it after injuring his ankle in one of the more unusual on-field injuries you’re likely to see.  Nathan Eovaldi will start on the hill for the Sox. Here’s how the roster breaks down:

Right-handed-pitchers

Left-handed-pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Infielder/Outfielder

Having to play a win-or-go-home playoff contest against the Yanks without Martinez is, to say the least, less than ideal for the Sox.  Moreover, the way in which Martinez injured himself surely falls under the category of “The Baseball Gods Must Hate Us.”  Jogging out to right field in the middle of the fifth inning in Sunday’s must-win contest against the Nationals, Martinez tripped over second base, spraining his left ankle.  Clearly one of the Beantowners’ three best hitters, Martinez put up a 128 wRC+, bettered only by Rafael Devers (134) and Xander Bogaerts (130).  Unfortunately for Red Sox Nation, he’ll be no more than a cheerleader tonight.

On the bright side, the Sox are starting Eovaldi, who has been the club’s best and most reliable pitcher in 2021.  Eovaldi took a huge step forward this year, which by many measures has been the best of his career.  Among starters with at least 140 innings pitched, Eovaldi led the American League in fWAR (5.6) and FIP (2.79) while finishing a close second to John Means in walk rate (4.6%).  He was able to keep the ball in the yard better than he has since 2015, with a HR/9 of just 0.74, no small feat while calling cozy Fenway Park your home.

Also of note, the Sox left Chris Sale off the roster, at least for tonight’s game.  That’s not surprising, given that he started Sunday and is coming back from Tommy John surgery he underwent in March of last year.  While Sale has been effective since returning to action on August 14, posting a 3.69 FIP, he’s also averaged just over 4.2 IP over his nine starts, and he certainly wasn’t going to pitch tonight. If Boston dispenses with the Bombers, they’ll be able to add Sale and (if healthy) Martinez to the roster for the ALDS.

J.D. Martinez Leaves Game With Left Ankle Sprain

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J.D. Martinez left today’s game after suffering what the Red Sox termed as a left ankle sprain.  The injury was suffered in bizarre fashion, as Martinez stumbled over second base while making his way out to right field to begin the bottom of the fifth inning.  Martinez played the half-inning, but was then replaced by pinch-hitter Jose Iglesias in the top of the sixth.

While normally a DH in the Red Sox lineup, Martinez has continued to see his share of time in the field, with today marking his 36th game of the season as an outfielder.  The Sox had no choice but to deploy Martinez in right field considering today’s game is in Washington, and thus the DH spot wasn’t available under National League rules.

The severity of Martinez’s injury remains to be seen, but should the slugger be limited in any way during at least the next few days, it certainly won’t help Boston’s chances of reaching the postseason, pending today’s results (or the results of a potential Game 163 playoff to determine an AL wild card berth).  After a rough 2020 season, Martinez has bounced back with a solid performance this year, hitting .286/.349/.518 with 28 homers and a league-best 42 doubles over 632 plate appearances.

J.D. Martinez “Right In The Middle” About Opt-Out Decision

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J.D. Martinez’s top priority is on getting the Red Sox into the playoffs, though once this season’s business is complete, Martinez will have to decide whether or not to return to the Sox for 2022.  The slugger tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he is “right in the middle” about whether he will opt out of the final season (and $19.375MM) on his contract, or if he’ll come back for a fifth year in Boston.

Martinez’s original five-year/$110MM pact from the 2017-18 offseason was somewhat unusually structured, giving both Martinez and the team multiple opportunities to opt out of the deal, with Boston’s concern being Martinez’s history of foot injuries.  As it turned out, Martinez stayed relatively healthy, and delivered huge numbers in 2018-19 before tailing off badly in 2020.  However, Martinez spoke at length about how the COVID-altered circumstances of the 2020 season impacted his ability to prepare and adjust for games, and his bat has largely bounced back in the somewhat more normalized environment of the 2021 campaign.

It’s a sign of how well Martinez has performed during his career that his .285/.349/.516 slash line and 29 homers over 612 plate appearances this season actually represents a step down from his 2014-19 prime, though Martinez is certainly still a dangerous bat.  A below-average walk rate is the only real sign of decline for the 34-year-old, who is still making plenty of hard contact and hitting for plenty of power.

Martinez has already passed on opting out of his contract following each of the last two seasons.  While last year’s decision was hardly a surprise given his subpar numbers, Martinez also expressed concern over how the free agent market would look for himself and for players as a whole in the wake of the pandemic season.  Given how vocal Martinez was about his displeasure with his own past free agent experience, he might be more inclined to take the security of his 2022 salary and avoid the possibility of another unusual offseason, considering the rumblings of labor struggles between owners and players.

That said, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could also represent an argument for Martinez to opt out.  It has been widely assumed that the next CBA will extend the designated hitter to the National League, thus opening Martinez’s market up to 15 other teams.  While Martinez isn’t a DH-only player, an NL team would surely prefer to have the DH available if signing Martinez to a multi-year contract.  Of course, Martinez will have to make his opt-out call within five days of the end of the World Series — well before we’ll know if the universal DH will be a reality.

Looking at just the American League, teams like the Mariners, Tigers (Martinez’s former team), Indians, and perhaps even the White Sox, Blue Jays, or Royals could all make room for the veteran slugger in their 2022 lineups.  A return to Boston also couldn’t be ruled out beyond just declining the opt-out clause, as Martinez and the Red Sox could potentially work out an extension or another year or two to keep Martinez from opting out.

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