5 trade deadline destinations for Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez
By Sean Penney
Red Sox could trade Martinez to the New York Mets
The Mets have already blown well over the luxury tax threshold and owner Steve Cohen appears to have no qualms with paying the bill if it gives his team a chance to win a championship. While some contenders might be hesitant to add the prorated salary owed to Martinez for the remainder of this season, the Mets are one club who wouldn’t blink.
New York has a three-game lead over the reigning champion Atlanta Braves in the NL East and can safely pencil themselves into a playoff spot with at least a Wild Card berth. The Mets would certainly prefer to retain one of the league’s top-two records to skip the first round of the playoffs and they will need to fortify their lineup to challenge the elite teams on the October stage.
The Mets have a top-10 offense by many metrics but they aren’t quite elite. They can contend with anyone in a playoff series if their pitching staff is healthy but they are still searching for another bat to lengthen their lineup.
The DH is the position where they need the most help. New York has cycled through a few options with lackluster results, ranking 27th in the majors with 80 wRC+ and 28th with -0.8 WAR.
J.D. Davis has seen the bulk of the DH duties but he’s hitting .236 with a .666 OPS and only three home runs. The Mets appear to have given up on Dominic Smith and they already sent Robinson Cano packing, eating the remaining $37.6 million on his contract.
Pete Alonso has spent 21 games as a DH. The Mets might prefer to find a defensive upgrade who can share first base with Alonso and allow their star to get some rest by serving as the DH more down the stretch, in which case they would be hesitant to lock Martinez into that role. If their priority is to upgrade the offense, they won’t find many options more appealing than Martinez unless they plan to empty the farm for Soto.