J.D. Martinez’s lengthy free company, certainly one of many this offseason, has come to a detailed.
The veteran designated hitter reportedly agreed Thursday to a 1-year, $12 million take care of the New York Mets, based on the New York Publish’s Jon Heyman.
Martinez was certainly one of 4 notable Scott Boras shoppers to take their contract negotiations into March, when spring coaching is in full swing and groups are targeted on making ready for the season. Martinez, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman all entered the offseason with excessive hopes for his or her subsequent contracts after which went months and not using a deal.
Snell and Chapman have since signed with the San Francisco Giants, whereas Montgomery stays a free agent. There is just one week remaining till MLB’s stateside Opening Day.
Within the case of the 36-year-old Martinez, he was probably pursuing the smallest deal of the group, however not many groups had openings that he simply match as a chosen hitter.
J.D. Martinez looks as if a superb match for the Mets
A return to the Dodgers initially appeared like the simplest transfer for Martinez after a bounce-back season with the NL West champions, however that was depending on their not signing Shohei Ohtani to fill the DH spot. Which they did. At nice expense.
At the same time as an older participant, Martinez can nonetheless hit the ball in addition to almost anybody in baseball. Per Baseball Savant, his common exit velocity and hard-hit proportion have been each within the 98th percentile in MLB final season, however his peripherals contained some purple flags that probably restricted his market.
By no means a man who sells energy for contact, Martinez was tenth percentile or worse in whiff charge and strikeout charge in 2023, with a chase charge (twenty eighth percentile) that wasn’t significantly better. He posted the second-lowest line-drive charge of his profession at 24.3%. He was nonetheless an incredible hitter, however groups may not have preferred the concept of investing an eight-figure sum to wager on his persevering with to defy Father Time.
For Martinez, the Mets look like a superb slot in roster development, if not timeline. The crew is in one thing of a transition yr after face-planting in 2023 and buying and selling away Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, however the Mets ought to nonetheless be in rivalry for a wild-card spot this season. Coming into Thursday, they’d names similar to Mark Vientos on monitor to DH. Martinez represents a major improve there.
Regardless, Martinez has continued to have an interesting profession, one which noticed him go from being launched by the Houston Astros in 2014 to incomes six All-Star alternatives, three Silver Sluggers and a World Sequence ring with the Crimson Sox in 2018. Now he is on to a brand new chapter in New York.