Latest On Giants Past Negotiations With J.D. Martine
Reports yesterday indicated that veteran slugger had from the Giants earlier this offseason, before the club ultimately landed on a three-year deal. There have been conflicting reports regarding the nature of the sides breaking off negotiations, with the suggesting that Martinez simply didnt want to go to San Francisco while reported that Martinez made a counteroffer to the Giants that club bra s werent comfortable with. This morning, and shed additional light on the situation, reporting that the Giants initial offer to Martinez was a one-year deal worth $14MM. The two reports Detroit Tigers Jersey diverge from there, however, with Nightengale indicating that Martinez rejected the contract in pursuit of a two-year deal while Feinsand reports that Martinez was seeking $20MM and declined San Franciscos offer despite potentially being open to accepting a little le s than his preferred salary figure. Of course, its po sible theres elements of truth to both reports. Speculatively speaking, it could be the case that Martinezs preference would be a two-year deal in the range of $20MM annually, though he may be willing to accept a one-year deal at the higher end of that range or a two-year pact for a slightly lower AAV. That would fall in line would fall roughly in line with for Martinezs contract, which sat at two years and $40MM. It remains to be seen whether or not Martinez will actually be able to earn that sum, of course. The offseasons top offensive free agent behind , outfielder , settled for a earlier this morning. Its po sible that Bellingers deal clocking in below expectations is a concerning signal for Martinez, though with him off the board Martinezs biggest rival on the positional market is third baseman , who figures to have a different set of suitors than the veteran slugger. Martinez figures to be an impact bat for the club that eventually lands him, even as he enters his age-36 season. After slashing an excellent .292/.363/.526 acro s 637 games in a Red Sox uniform from 2018 to 2022 en route to four All Star appearances and a top-four finish in AL MVP voting, Martinez took a one-year deal with the Dodgers last winter and revamped his approach in L.A. to generate more power. The changes worked as intended, as he slashed a fantastic .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs in just 479 trips to the plate after hitting just 16 homers in 596 plate appearances the previous season. That incredible power came at the expense of a significant jump in strikeouts, as his 31.1% strikeout rate last year marked the first time he was punched out at a clip over 30% in his career. With the Giants now a suredly out of the running for Martinezs services after signing Soler, the veteran slugger could still make sense for a handful of clubs. The Angels and Mets have both been connected to the veteran at various points this offseason, though public indications are that neither team prefers to add a full time DH to its mix. A team like the Cubs or Twins that lacks a full-time DH could at least theoretically accommodate Martinez at the position, though each club sports a crowded positional mix and figures to benefit considerably from having the DH spot available to rest players or work in more playing time for youngsters forcing their way into the lineup. If none of the aforementioned teams are interested to committing to Martinez on a high-dollar or multi-year deal, that could leave the veteran slugger forced to lower his asking price. At that point, any of the aforementioned clubs or even a low-budget club with a clear need for offense such as the Guardians could jump into the mix for Martinezs services. Kerry Carpenter Jersey