In his first offseason as president of baseball operations, David Stearns has added a number of players to the New York Mets roster. He should be commended for not having acquired a veteran bat to shield first baseman Pete Alonso. J.D. Martinez, a right-handed slugger, might be a good fit.
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter provided updated estimates on where a large number of MLB free agents would end up in 2024 on February 2. Martinez, a three-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award, is one of the best veteran bats still available, and Reuter projected that Martinez would join Queens.
He is not alone in believing that New York needs to add more players to its roster. On January 31, Jon Heyman of the New York Post stated that the Mets “owe it.
According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the Mets’ chances of signing a player such as Martinez or Soler will only increase if their prices decrease. Mark Vientos is the internal candidate who is expected to see a large amount of at-bats as the designated hitter.
Martinez played for the Boston Red Sox for five years. They were pretty effective for the right-handed hitter most of the time. In 2018, he hit 43 home runs with 130 RBI, and in 2019, he hit another 36 home runs with 105 RBI. He was back to his usual self after the pandemic cut short the 2020 season, hammering 28 home runs with 99 RBI for the Sox in 2021.
In 2022, the slugger found it difficult to regain his usual strength. Martinez played 139 games and totaled 596 plate appearances in his age-34 season. In all, he only managed 16 home runs and 62 RBI in that span. His 162-game average of.790 was the lowest since 2013 (when he had a.650 OPS with the Detroit Tigers).
