Up: Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez
This one should come as no surprise as J.D. Martinez has been on a warpath to make sure nobody remembers the 2020 season. All winter long he had to hear about how poorly he performed during the COVID shortened campaign and it ate him alive. He’s spoken about the fact that it annoyed him to no end that people were encapsulating his entire career based on a two-month window under wild circumstances.
Well, if he wanted to make sure everyone forgot what he didn’t do last year and only focused on what he’s doing this year, he’s achieving that goal. There are several guys that are carrying their weight but none have been more instrumental in the early turnaround for the Red Sox than J.D.. The big slugger is currently owning a .433/.469/.867/1.335 line with 2 homers and 12 RBI.
He also leads the entire MLB with 7 doubles and is tied for the lead in Total Bases with 26. Martinez also owns the franchise record for extra base-hits through the mark in the season. There’s always the chance he’ll find a cold spell here or there but if we’re to think that he has a new motivation to shut people up, I don’t know if we’ll see one.
With a chance to once again opt-out of his contract this coming winter this season means more than just a rebound for him. The better he performs the more power he has come negotiating time whether it be for an extension with the Red Sox or with a new club come the offseason. Hopefully, Chaim Bloom has already begun the talks because I’d hate to see an angry J.D. Martinez coming to Fenway in a different uniform.