Another Red Sox internal free agent is leaving Boston. On Saturday night, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that designated hitter J.D. Martinez is signing a one-year, $10 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
According to Passan, the Dodgers “targeted Martinez early in free agency.” He’s now reunited with hitting coach Robert Von Scoyoc, who he worked with early in his career, as well as former Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts. Martinez and Betts both played key roles on the 2018 World Series-winning Red Sox team.
Baseball Hour Hot Stove Special
Martinez is the second middle-of-the-order bat the Red Sox have lost in free agency this offseason. Earlier this month, shortstop Xander Bogaerts signed a massive deal with another NL West club, the San Diego Padres.
There wasn’t as much attention around the Red Sox retaining Martinez as some of their other free agents. He wasn’t among those who got a qualifying offer back in November, coming off a season when he hit .274 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs in 139 games.
Overall, Martinez proved to be a slam dunk signing for the Red Sox, who first brought him on with a five-year, $110 million contract in 2018 under Dave Dombrowski’s leadership. He was a leader on and off the field for that 2018 championship team, and won two Silver Sluggers and made four All Star games in his time in Boston. There are now only four players from that 2018 team still with the Red Sox – Rafael Devers, Chris Sale, Matt Barnes, and Ryan Brasier.
The plan for the Red Sox to replace Martinez remain unclear. The team has Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernandez, and Masataka Yoshida all figure to start in the outfield, but there aren’t many extra bats to put at DH – especially after the team DFA’ed Eric Hosmer on Friday.
Martinez signing takes one more pending Red Sox free agent off the market. Other big names still unsigned include Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, and Tommy Pham.
J.D. Martinez career stats
Year Age Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG Awards 2011 23 HOU 53 208 29 57 13 0 6 35 13 48 .274 .319 .423 2012 24 HOU 113 395 34 95 14 3 11 55 40 96 .241 .311 .375 2013 25 HOU 86 296 24 74 17 0 7 36 10 82 .250 .272 .378 2014 26 DET 123 441 57 139 30 3 23 76 30 126 .315 .358 .553 2015 27 DET 158 596 93 168 33 2 38 102 53 178 .282 .344 .535 AS,MVP-15,SS 2016 28 DET 120 460 69 141 35 2 22 68 49 128 .307 .373 .535 2017 29 TOT 119 432 85 131 26 3 45 104 53 128 .303 .376 .690 MVP-14 2017 29 DET 57 200 38 61 13 2 16 39 29 54 .305 .388 .630 2017 29 ARI 62 232 47 70 13 1 29 65 24 74 .302 .366 .741 2018 30 BOS 150 569 111 188 37 2 43 130 69 146 .330 .402 .629 AS,MVP-4,SS,SS 2019 31 BOS 146 575 98 175 33 2 36 105 72 138 .304 .383 .557 AS,MVP-21 2020 32 BOS 54 211 22 45 16 0 7 27 22 59 .213 .291 .389 2021 33 BOS 148 570 92 163 42 3 28 99 55 150 .286 .349 .518 AS 2022 34 BOS 139 533 76 146 43 1 16 62 52 145 .274 .341 .448 AS Career 1409 5286 790 1522 339 21 282 899 518 1424 .288 .352 .520 162 avg 162 608 91 175 39 2 32 103 60 164 .288 .352 .520 BOS BOS BOS 637 2458 399 717 171 8 130 423 270 638 .292 .363 .526 DET DET DET 458 1697 257 509 111 9 99 285 161 486 .300 .361 .551 HOU HOU HOU 252 899 87 226 44 3 24 126 63 226 .251 .300 .387 ARI ARI ARI 62 232 47 70 13 1 29 65 24 74 .302 .366 .741 Bold indicated led league
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/17/2022.Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].
