It is about time.
Red Sox To Sign J.D. Martinez
By Steve Adams | February 19, 2018 at 4:26pm CDT
After months of negotiations, the Red Sox have reportedly reached an agreement to sign slugger J.D. Martinez. ESPN.com’s Pedro Gomez first tweeted that a deal was in place; Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports had tweeted that the sides were close. Martinez is represented by the Boras Corporation. Details remain unknown, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe hears (Twitter link) that the deal is expected to be for five years.
Boston has been the primary suitor connected to Martinez for virtually all of the offseason — especially since their decision to re-sign Mitch Moreland effectively took them out of the Eric Hosmer sweepstakes. Martinez figures to slot in as the primary DH for the Sox but should see some occasional time in the outfield when any of Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley or Mookie Betts needs a breather. His addition calls the role of Hanley Ramirez with the Red Sox into question, as Ramirez now appears to be, at best, a backup DH and a part-time first baseman that is on the short side of the platoon.
Though the Sox have a substantial commitment to Ramirez already in place, that didn’t stop them from making a sizable offer to bring Martinez into the fold, and it’s not difficult to see why they felt he was a key piece to pushing into World Series contention. Martinez slashed a Herculean .303/.376/.690 with 45 home runs and 26 doubles in just 489 plate appearances last offseason. In all, an out-of-the-blue breakout with the 2014 Tigers, Martinez has been one of the game’s most feared hitters — as evidenced by the .300/.362/.574 batting line he’s logged in that four-year period.
Context-neutral metrics like OPS+ (149) and wRC+ (148) feel that Martinez has been nearly 50 percent better than the league-average hitter in that time, when adjusting for park and league. That 148 wRC+ ties him with Bryce Harper and now-former teammate Paul Goldschmidt for fourth in all of baseball over the past four years; only Mike Trout, Joey Votto and Giancarlo Stanton have posted better wRC+ marks in that time.
The Red Sox ranked 10th in the Majors in runs scored last season as it was, though their combined .258/.329/.407 batting line was below-average on a rate basis, and they ranked 27th in the Majors with 168 homers. Martinez will serve as a particularly potent upgrade in the DH department, as Boston designated hitters combined to hit just .244/.327/.419 last year.
Originally Posted by a700hitter
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