Market Finally Heating Up For All-Star Designated Hitter, Per Reports
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On Sunday, we wrote a piece imploring someone to sign veteran slugger J.D. Martinez, who remains on the free agent market with just over two weeks to go until the regular season begins.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the market may finally be thawing for the 36-year-old with the Mets and Angels showing interest.
The Mets are among teams talking to star free agent designated hitter J.D. Martinez, and word is the interest is mutual, sources tell The Post.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has apparently given the go-ahead to seriously discuss Martinez even though the Mets are over the fourth-tier, so-called “Steve Cohen tax,” and they’d have to pay a 110 percent tax on any new deals.
The Mets like Martinez as a potential answer to solving a long-running lineup issue of protection for star cleanup man Pete Alonso, but other teams, including the Angels, remain involved for the hitting star.
We had heard the Mets connected to Martinez earlier in the offseason, and the Marlins have been connected recently, but this is among the first mentions of the Los Angeles Angels.
All three of those teams make sense for Martinez, by the way. The Mets need punch in the offense, the Marlins just lost Jorge Soler in free agency and the Angels lost Shohei Ohtani. Signing Martinez could help alleviate those losses.
He's a six-time All-Star who has played for the Astros, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Red Sox and Dodgers. He starred for Detroit from 2014-2017 before being traded to Arizona at the trade deadline. Lifetime, he's a .287 hitter with 315 homers and 1,002 RBI. He helped Boston win the World Series in 2018.
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