SWINGING A DEAL?
Slugging outfielder still available as free agent
The Diamondbacks still need a power outfielder. J.D. Martinez still needs a team. With spring training fast approaching, can they reach a deal to keep the slugger in Arizona?
With less than a week before pitchers and catchers report, the Diamondbacks still need a power bat in their outfield, and J.D. Martinez still needs a place to play. Could it really happen? Who knows? It’s a reunion that increasingly makes more sense and less sense as time goes on.
All offseason, Martinez has seemed destined to land with the Boston Red Sox. The best bat available on the market, Martinez would give the Red Sox the power threat their line- up was missing last season. And given the Red Sox’s deep pockets, it figured to be Martinez’s most lucrative landing spot.
But here we are in February. The Red Sox still need a slugger. Martinez still needs a home. And the Red Sox reportedly have offered Martinez something close to $125 million over five years, and he still hasn’t taken it.
The Diamondbacks are the only apparent suitor besides the Red Sox. A report by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on Wednesday night said the Diamondbacks have discussed both short- and long-term deals with Martinez. Nightengale reported earlier in the day that the Diamondbacks have a one-year offer on the table to him.
FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported Thursday that Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has “met multiple times” with Martinez’s agent, Scott Boras.
Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen sounded his familiar refrain from throughout the winter when it comes to unsigned free agents. He wouldn’t get into specifics.
“I’m not going to comment on any ongoing negotiations other than to say that we’re still very engaged in the entire market,” he said.
Certainly, the $206.5 million deal the Diamondbacks gave Zack Greinke two offseasons ago is proof never to count them out on anyone, even the biggest fish in the water. Still, it’s hard to envision the Diamondbacks giving out another monster contract.
As the offseason has progressed, the Diamondbacks haven’t shed any significant contracts in trades, and with every arbitration case that was settled they saw their payroll continue to grow – and, seemingly, saw their chances at a Martinez reunion grow dimmer.
As it stands, their payroll is in excess of $120 million. That puts them at least $15 million north of last season, likely more. And Martinez figures to cost at least $20 million-$25 million a year.
Moreover, their slugger and face-ofthe-franchise, Paul Goldschmidt, is up for free agency after 2019. Unless the Diamondbacks plan to significantly increase their spending beyond the range in which they've resided the past decade-plus, it’s hard to imagine Greinke, Goldschmidt and Martinez on the same roster, not to mention center fielder A.J. Pollock, who is a free agent after this year.
And yet, again, Martinez is still out there, with it looking more and more possible he doesn’t really want to be in Boston. The longer that drags out, the more a return to the desert seems possible.
But on a five-year deal? Martinez is coming off the best season of his career – and he was an enormous part of the Diamondbacks’ playoff push last year – but he comes with some concerns.
He’s 30, meaning his production is likely to decline over a long-term deal. He’s had trouble staying healthy. He’s already considered a subpar outfielder, and scouts wonder if he’ll need to shift positions in time. Unlike the Red Sox, the Diamondbacks don’t have the designated hitter to fall back on.
The Diamondbacks have a few things going for them when it comes to attracting him. Martinez loved his time here last season, bonded with his new teammates and sees them as a team that’s built to win, something he said last year was important to him.
He reportedly doesn’t want to DH. This offseason, the Diamondbacks also hired one of Martinez’s personal hitting coaches, Robert Van Scoyoc, for the newly created position of hitting strategist.
It’s also possible the Diamondbacks’ interest is being overstated. Perhaps they believe Martinez’s leverage with Boston would vanish if they backed away, and they either want to do him this favor or stick it to the Red Sox.
“I’m not going to comment on any ongoing negotiations other than to say that we’re still very engaged in the entire market.” Mike Hazen Diamondbacks general manager