Heading into the all-star break, teams often have a good sense of who is prepped for a solid year offensively, who might need the “wake up call” to kick it into gear, and who struggled through the first half. The question being asked by the Red Sox might be a little more unique when they look at outfielder/designated hitter JD Martinez.
Martinez signed a hefty five-year, $110 million contract prior to the 2018 MLB season with an option after this year. The intriguing part with this contract is that Martinez can opt-out after this year for $2.5 million which will bring the total to an even $50 million for the last two years. If he chooses to continue to play for the Red Sox, he has another opt-out after years three and four, however, they do not have buyouts. The Red Sox are pretty much left to draw conclusions when it comes to Martinez and whether he will return to the Red Sox or test the open market.
The market is crazy, with Martinez waiting quite a long time to sign in the 2017-18 offseason, he could be wary and choose to stay with the Red Sox no matter what. The thing that could drive Martinez to opt-out is his offensive output, want to get out of Boston, and urge to test the market again. That being said, his offensive output could also halt his decision if the statistics are not in his favor.
J.D. Martinez mashes a ball to straightaway center for his 13th home run of the season! #RedSox get one back.
Not all hope is lost!
BOS – 1
TEX – 4 pic.twitter.com/F19LnCYAqg— Red Sox on CLNS (@RedSoxCLNS) June 13, 2019
Martinez is running a little slower out of the gates than he did last year during his all-star campaign. He is not having a “bad” year, he is still first in all-star voting and having a deserving statistical year as the Red Sox designated hitter. Through sixty-four games, he has a .301/.378/.562 slash line with sixteen home runs and forty RBI for the Red Sox in 2019.
Testing the market with these statistics could allow him to snag an upgraded deal, he is slated to make $23.75 million next year and then a decrease to $19.35 million in the following two years. With a front-loaded contract, Martinez could definitely opt-out in hopes of locking up a bigger contract with another team.
The Red Sox are currently 40-34 with a six game deficit from first place in the American League East division where they are in third place behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The middle of the Red Sox lineup is struggling to remain a powerhouse as they have been in recent years. Losing Martinez would be detrimental to the teams’ lineup but with Mookie Betts approaching free agency, they could use the spare money to lock down their superstar for the long haul.
Martinez may be opting out of this contract to gouge the Red Sox for more money just like Craig Kimbrel did this season, the question is… will GM Dave Dombrowski budge? If Martinez opts out of his contract in hopes to get more money from the Red Sox and test the market, will the Red Sox front office re-sign him to preserve the lineup?
With Xander Bogaerts locked up on a long-term deal, Andrew Benintendi still in his arbitration years, Rafael Devers still in arbitration years, and Michael Chavis proving himself worthy as an everyday player the Red Sox could use that solid three or four-hitter. Martinez would be the anchor in the center of the lineup, being thirty-one right now would mean his numbers are not exactly going to be on the rise. A player who can consistently hit for thirty home runs and near a hundred RBI would be perfect to anchor down that Red Sox lineup.
Time will tell, there is an entire second half of this 2019 regular season to be played, Martinez could explode for a ton of home runs and raise his batting average to a plus .300 mark and then opt-out. The future is unknown but the simplest answer to the opt-out question is, Martinez’s stats will dictate the choice he makes to opt-out or not. If he does opt-out a completely different question arises and Dombrowski will have some decisions to make for the future of the Red Sox franchise.
