JD Martinez appears to be trying to force some action in his free agency situation.
Martinez, who is viewed by many as the best position player on the market, remains unsigned. He reportedly has a five-year, $125 offer from the Boston Red Sox, but Boston seemingly won’t budge from there.
On Tuesday night, a report said Martinez was “fed up” with the Red Sox. And what do you know? A day later, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that Martinez has had contract talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Free agent JD Martinez, who has a 5-year offer from the #Redsox for at least $120, million has discussed short-term as well as long-term proposals with the #Dbacks
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 8, 2018
Nightengale does not say that the two sides are actively negotiating, but that they have talked in the past. Terms of these deals have not been disclosed either.
Martinez was traded by Detroit to Arizona last season and caught fire. He smacked 29 homers in 62 games for a 1.107 OPS with the Diamondbacks and seems to be a good fit there.
Whether the reports about Martinez being fed up with Boston and having talks with the Diamondbacks are just tactics to get Boston to improve their offer is in question. Perhaps we’ll know that the reports weren’t acts of posturing if Martinez indeed returns to the Diamondbacks.
