PORT ST. LUCIE, FL: The New York Mets and free agent OF/DH J.D. Martinez are in agreement on a one-year deal worth $12 million, per Jon Heyman.
The deal will pay Martinez $4.5 million this year with $1.5 million a year deferred from 2034-38. By deferring some of the contract, the Mets significantly reduce the luxury tax penalty for this upcoming season. The New York Mets’ 40-man payroll now at $325.3 million after the signing of JD Martinez. It includes $69 million of dead money, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Martinez, 36, will be entering his fourteenth year in the bigs and New York will be his fifth place he calls home. Martinez spent the 2023 season in Los Angeles (NL) and slashed .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs.
This deal is without a doubt a great one for both sides. Martinez gets his next chance and the Mets get a slugger who is penciled in for at least 25 home runs. Martinez paired with other slugger Pete Alonso will be a great one-two punch with other great hitters in the mix.
As mentioned, Martinez is a power house with the bat, taking a look into his Baseball Savant page, it shows just what kind of impact he will be bringing paired up with Pete Alonso.
The Mets are heading into 2024 hopeful. With the Phillies and Braves ahead of the pack, the Mets will likely be battling for a wild card spot in the gauntlet of the NL East. With Martinez now in the mix, that wild card spot could come in play at the end of the 2024 regular season.
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