New York Mets J.D. Martinez had a longer off-season than he expected.
After putting together a solid 33-homer, 103-RBI season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, Martinez was still lingering on the free agent market in March, when most teams were nearing the end of spring training. In a new interview with , Martinez told Rob Bradford how close he was to retiring — to the point of giving his agent, Scott Boras, an ultimatum. "I was on the boat fishing with my best friend and he was like, 'Bro I think this is it.
I'm staying home. This is dumb. I'm begging for a job and I had a .
900 OPS last year. It's like, what are we talking about? Nobody wants to win," Martinez said. "And then my buddy was like, 'you've trained this year.
You've gotten your body ready. You're ready for the season. So you're just going to waste all this training you've done for nothing? You might as well play.
" Martinez said he had that conversation with his friend on a Sunday, called his agent (Scott Boras) the following day, then had a contract with the New York Mets on Friday, March 22. How close was Martinez to retiring? "I pretty much told (Boras), if I don't have a job by Friday, I'm done," he told Bradford. In hindsight, Martinez's one-year, $12 million deal could prove instrumental to the Mets' surprising playoff run.
After signing late in camp, Martinez did not make his regular season debut until April 26. Still, only eight National League designated hitters finished the regular season with more.