In view of the 2018 season, JD Martinez has agreed with the Boston Red Sox on the terms of a five-year contract with several exit options. He never, in the end, chose to get out of his contract and he spent five years in Boston.
Result? Four great seasons (from 2018 to 2019 and from 2021 to 2022, even if the last one was not his best), a World Series, four appearances in the All-Star Game and 130 homers. It was a successful transition.
However, here he is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He signed a one-year contract valued at $10 million, even though he could have had a lot more.
Justin Turner’s contract in Boston ($22 million over two years) demonstrates this.
But why did you choose to sign such a contract? First, there is the lure of winning. He would no doubt like to add a ring to his collection and he likes his chances in Los Angeles.
But above all, by playing with the Dodgers, he will have the chance to find Mookie Betts, with whom he played for two years in Boston.
Martinez and Betts are good friends and the former attended the latter’s wedding last year. It is at his side that Martinez wants to regain his value.
Because as his agent Scott Boras said, Martinez knows he had more lucrative deals on the table. He left six to seven million dollars to play wherever he wanted.
He told them [aux Dodgers] that he intended to play well and pick up his value in the next few years.
– Scott Boras re JD Martinez
Martinez, who is 35, also finds Robert Van Scoyoc. The Dodgers batting coach was Martinez’s personal trainer before taking a job in major league baseball.
Finding him was part of the equation. He felt wanted in LA
Note that he is not the only one to do so. The presence of Kevin Long (hitting coach in Philadelphia who was in Washington before) is a factor that allowed the Phillies to attract two of its former players: Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner.
In short. All that to say that Martinez should be like a fish in water in Los Angeles. And he knows what it takes to succeed in a big market…
