Veteran designated hitter J.D. Martinez has agreed to a $12 million deal with the New York Mets, reports Jon Heyman.
Martinez, 36, is a six-time All-Star who started his career with the Astros before stops in Detroit and a cup of coffee in Arizona. His five years in Boston included a World Series title and a fourth-place finish in MVP voting in 2018 and then he spent last season with the Dodgers. In 113 games, he hit .271/.321/.572 (a slug-heavy 134 OPS+) with 27 doubles, two triples, 33 homers, 103 RBI and 61 runs scored.
Notable last season for Martinez was the return of his home run power. In 2022 with the Red Sox, he hit 16 homers and slugged .448 in 533 at-bats. He had just 432 at-bats last season, but more than doubled his HR output while adding back 124 points of slugging percentage. It was his highest home run total since 2019 and best slugging since 2018 — his career year.
No one should expect Martinez to hit .330 (as he did in 2018) again or challenge for an MVP or anything, but those power gains last season were very encouraging for the possibility of him following in the footsteps of some big-time DHs who recently aged well into their late 30s like David Ortiz, Nelson Cruz and Jim Thome.
Basically, after last season’s power rebound, there’s every reason to believe Martinez will continue to be a major difference-maker in the middle of the lineup.
