As just another of super-agent Scott Boras’ unsigned free agent clients, J.D. Martinez lurks in the media shadows of pitchers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. A DH-maestro, Martinez had an excellent year last season for the Dodgers. But when the Dodgers signed another well-regarded free agent DH in Shohei Ohtani, (because this season that’s all that Ohtani will be), Martinez was expendable. That Martinez put up a 2023 season OPS+ of 134 was of little concern to the mega-spending Dodgers. They could afford to lose that production more than most teams.
The Mets have been linked to Martinez off and on this entire off-season. Even as recently as Monday this week the two parties were batting eyelashes at one another, but still a deal has not been consummated. Mets owner Steve Cohen has given POBO David Stearns the green light to pursue Martinez with a contract that would push the Mets into MLB’s ‘Steve Cohen luxury tax’ bracket. So what’s stopping it all from happening?
Answer: Mark Vientos. Vientos was never really given a full unbridled opportunity to be the team’s DH last season with Buck Showalter preferring to ride with Daniel Vogelbach as DH most of the time. Vientos struggled last season, batting just .211 with a 69 OPS+ in 233 plate appearances. The Mets continue to appear to be of the mind that Vientos is a future hitting star, albeit one without a position in the field. There’s talk of platooning him at 3B with Brett Baty as well as having him in the DH spot in the lineup. But Vientos is far from being even an average fielder at 3B. Last season having two players on the team that only did one thing – hitting, hurt the team. David Stearns recognized this and let Vogie go on to Toronto. Bringing in Martinez at DH makes Vientos immediately expendable and to the Mets at least, useless. It will not increase Vientos’ trade value.
While J.D. was a magician with the bat as usual last season, he played 3 games and a total of 12 innings in the outfield. In 2022 with the Red Sox Martinez did not play in the field at all. This is why it’s taking the Mets so long to decide. Would JD Martinez in the DH slot make the Mets more formidable this season than Mark Vientos? Possibly? Probably? But not definitely. And will they really screw over VIentos again by signing Martinez? The upside of Vientos being a capable and productive DH is palpable since he will be paid so much less than Martinez which frees up money in the future to sign other players whether they are in-house (see Alonso and Alvarez) or future free agents (Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes).
Speaking of being screwed over, former Met DH/INF/OF J.D. Davis had that happen to him this week when after winning his arbitration case vs. the Giants, the Giants paid him out (legally) at 1/5th of the arbitration salary and cut him. Now this other J.D. is looking for a job and the Mets have been linked to him as well. Davis is a more capable fielder than Martinez, but his being cast off for Darren Ruf in 2022 left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, and Davis had a good but not great 2023 season with the Giants.
Vientos’ start to this year’s spring training was tepid and while he’s come on a bit recently, his important spring has not made it easier to ignore J.D. Martinez dangling out there in the free agent ocean. Maybe at the root of it all the Mets don’t believe Vientos is or will be all that good. Because if they do feel Vientos is a surefire DH stud they’ve had a strange way of showing it.
