3 Key players who might receive Qualifying Offers from the Red Sox

The 2023 Boston Red Sox will be a very different team.

Hopefully, more successful, but a very different roster either way. Several players are set to reach free agency this winter, and most won’t be significant losses to the team. The Sox also have several club-controlled players whom they can use to make beneficial trades.

The Sox did extend Kiké Hernández another year, so he is no longer among the impending free agents. They can also extend a Qualifying Offer to any free agent who has never received one before in their career.

Here are three players who might get asked back…

Will the Red Sox make a Qualifying Offer to JD Martinez?

It’s hard to see the Sox bringing JD Martinez back when his contract expires.

In hindsight, Martinez should’ve opted out last year, when he was coming off a stellar bounce-back season in which he homered 28 times and tied for the MLB lead with a career-high 42 doubles. Instead, he opted in and has struggled all season, which doesn’t set him up for the same lucrative free agency showing he would’ve had last winter.

While he actually has a chance of surpassing last year’s doubles total (he’s up to 38), his drop in power has been alarming. Through 120 games, he’s homered only 11 times, his lowest count in a 162-game season since 2013.

As grateful as everyone is for what Martinez contributed to the team over his five seasons in Boston, the Sox should not bring him back. He’s 35, has some recurring injuries, and his DH/outfield role will be easily filled.