The Mets wound up going outside of their ranks to address their designated hitter spot, after all, signing veteran JD Martinez to a one-year, $12 million deal Thursday night.
Beating out other interested parties such as the Los Angeles Angels, the Mets get a proven bat to lengthen their lineup and provide some much-needed support behind Pete Alonso. The 36-year-old Martinez slashed .271/.321/.572 (.893 OPS) with 33 home runs and 103 RBI with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.
The move is a deviation from what new president of baseball operations David Stearns had preached since he arrived back in October — especially as of late. New York was broadcasting a philosophy that they were going to ride with their younger, more unproven bats for the 2024 season, which included 24-year-old Mark Vientos getting a shot at the DH role.
Vientos, however, owns a .205 career batting average during sporadic playing time across two seasons. He batted just .212 with four home runs and six RBI in 52 spring training at-bats.
By comparison, Martinez has posted 162-game averages of .291 with a .908 OPS, 38 home runs, and 113 RBI since 2015, which included stops with the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Dodgers.
He will slot into the middle of a lineup that had been snakebitten by the DH role in recent years, most recently by the lack of production that came from Daniel Vogelbach. Here is how the Mets’ starting nine could shake up come Opening Day on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers:
2024 Projected Mets Lineup
- Brandon Nimmo, CF
- Starling Marte, RF
- Francisco Lindor, SS
- Pete Alonso, 1B
- JD Martinez, DH
- Jeff McNeil, 2B
- Francisco Alvarez, C
- Brett Baty, 3B
- Harrison Bader, CF
For more on JD Martinez, visit AMNY.com
