David Price and J.D. Martinez were teammates for a short time with the Tigers, and Red Sox fans might be surprised to hear that Price helped bring the slugger to Boston. But those fans probably won’t be shocked to learn what Price said about them and the way they treat their players.
In an interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Price once again spoke about how difficult it is to play for the Red Sox. It’s no secret that the left-hander has struggled to get along with the media and fans since he signed a $217 million contract before the 2016 season, and Price admits he warned Martinez the same could happen to him.
“Oh yeah, he’ll get booed,” Price said “I told JD he will love the guys here in this clubhouse, but also told him he’ll get booed. He’s a quiet, soft-spoken guy, but he’ll handle it. Besides, everyone gets booed. I heard Big Papi (David Ortiz) get booed many times in Fenway.”
Take it from someone who lived and died with the Red Sox during Ortiz’s career with the team — there were not many times when Ortiz was booed at Fenway Park. Sure, Boston fans are known for turning on their own players, but Big Papi is a rare exception. He’s delivered more game-winning hits than any player in franchise history, and many of them came in the postseason. Red Sox fans may be ruthless, but they don’t forget heroics.
The problem for Price is that he has not even come close to living up to the hype. Nightengale noted that he was laughing when he said he warned Martinez about the boos, but there is certainly a lot of truth behind it.
“It is tough here,” Price said. “There’s just so much more negativity. I’ve never been one for negative stuff. I like surrounding myself by positive people. Even if my wife starts talking negatively, I let her know. I just can’t stand it.”
Price likes to generalize by applying his own situation to that of every other player who has worn a Red Sox uniform, but he’s the only one (that we know of) who enthusiastically cursed out a team legend and broadcaster for telling it like it is. Most players know what they’re getting into when they sign with Boston. The majority of them handle it better than Price, and Martinez probably will, too.
J.D. Martinez has reportedly officially signed with the Boston Red Sox.
According to various reports, Martinez has signed a five-year deal worth $110 million and includes an opt-out after two seasons.
It’s safe to say Martinez fell a good bit short of his original ambitions. It became inevitable early on that this would happen, as the market simply didn’t develop in the players’ favor. Martinez will hope it rebounds, in all likelihood, and that he can perform well for two years before taking another shot at it.
The Boston Red Sox are believed to have had the best offer on the table for J.D. Martinez for quite some time now, and the free agent outfielder has finally accepted it.
ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reported on Monday that Martinez has officially signed with the Red Sox. Jon Morosi of MLB Network was told Martinez’s contract is front-loaded and worth $110 million over five years.
There have been reports for several weeks now that Boston’s offer to Martinez was in the five-year, $100 million range. We have also seen indications that he was frustrated with the Red Sox and seeking much more than that, but the market has apparently been set.
Martinez, 30, hit .303 with 45 homers and 104 RBI in 119 games with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He should provide the Red Sox with some desperately needed pop in the middle of their order.
After a whole lot of back and forth, it sounds like J.D. Martinez may finally be moving close to a new landing spot.
According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, Martinez and the Boston Red Sox are close to a deal, though nothing is done yet.
The Red Sox have always looked like Martinez’s most likely landing spot. There has been mutual interest there all offseason long, though there were numerous hitches in the negotiations, with Martinez less than enamored by Boston’s reported offers. Obviously, it sounds like some sort of breakthrough is either close or has already happened, though nothing is done until the contract is signed.
Scott Boras appears to be making his best effort to get something going between the Arizona Diamondbacks and JD Martinez.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported on Sunday night that Boras met with Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick within the past week to talk about Martinez.
Martinez was acquired by Arizona before the trade deadline last season and helped propel the team into the playoffs. He batted .302 with 29 home runs in 62 games for the Diamondbacks, while posting a 1.107 OPS.
There was some recent chatter that Martinez was frustrated with the Red Sox and their refusal to go beyond a supposed five-year, $125 million contract offered to him. There has been increased chatter about him and the Diamondbacks since then.
Many figured Martinez would prove too expensive for the Diamondbacks to retain given his reported desires for a $200 million contract before free agency, but he may end up within their price range based on the sluggish market.
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.
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.
Negotiations with the Boston Red Sox are apparently not going well for J.D. Martinez.
According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the free agent outfielder is not happy with Boston’s five-year, $125 million offer. Boston apparently has not been willing to negotiate at all on that offer, as Martinez is reportedly “fed up” with Boston’s reluctance to negotiate and would prefer to join another club at this point.
The problem for Martinez, as it is for many other free agents, is that Martinez doesn’t have any options. Rosenthal notes he may be posturing to try to get Boston to up their offer, but they lack any real incentive to do so. There are no other known interested parties for Martinez, and that doesn’t appear likely to change anytime soon.
The Red Sox had confirmed they were negotiating with Martinez, but by the sound of it, there doesn’t sound like much negotiation happening.
In the slowest offseason in recent memory, numerous top Major League Baseball free agents remain unsigned. You could put a pretty solid team together solely consisting of players who remain unsigned in February, with spring training a matter of weeks away.
Teams in need of help can still look at pretty much any position and find someone at least passable. Here’s a glance at the best player remaining on the market at each position.
Catcher – Jonathan Lucroy
Once a potent offensive catcher regarded as one of the best in the game at framing pitches, Lucroy has seen his star fade a bit. He’s still a threat, though, and he proved that by hitting .310 in his short stint with the Colorado Rockies last season. Lucroy is still a career .281 hitter and a reliable defensive backstop, and he probably could come cheap, making it something of a surprise that he hasn’t signed yet. He’s not the top starter that he once was, but he’s a solid option all the same.
First Base – Eric Hosmer
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The Boston Red Sox have confirmed what we had all heard already — they want J.D. Martinez.
Red Sox chairman Tom Werner confirmed Friday that the Red Sox are in “active negotiations” with Martinez and are hoping to get something done with either him or another big free agent hitter.
We already heard reports that the Red Sox have an offer on the table for Martinez, though it is well short of his reported asking price. How motivated Werner and the Red Sox are to bridge that gap remains to be seen. For that reason, it’s notable that the option of pivoting to another free agent target was very much left on the table.
J.D. Martinez reportedly has an offer in hand from the Boston Red Sox, and it’s easy to see now why he hasn’t taken it.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Martinez has an offer from the Red Sox for roughly five years and $100 million.
This is a long way off from Martinez’s reported initial demands. Even if that price has come down a bit, the five years will probably be a sticking point — the Red Sox seem unlikely to go higher, while Martinez would clearly prefer a longer pact.
Martinez is coming off a 40-home run season, but it just doesn’t seem like he’s drawing a lot of interest, putting him in a tough spot.
