The Wait is Over? Red Sox Agreement with Offensive Powerhouse

By Jillian Fellows:

The anticipation has finally come to an end or has it? We are still awaiting official word if J.D. Martinez is coming to Boston.

According to multiple reports, the 30-year-old slugger agreed to a five-year deal with the Boston Red Sox on February 19th—a day that was long coming for many Boston fans.

Martinez and the Red Sox reportedly came to a verbal agreement on the fate of the former Diamondback; a $110 million dollar arrangement with opt-out clauses after the second and third year.  

The off-season has been short of quiet for the Sox, as talk about the fate of the free agent began circling shortly after the 2017 season ended.

The back and forth negotiations between Martinez and Boston has been a slow process. Martinez is the last of the high-profile free agents to be signed over the off-season; Eric Hosmer signed an eight-year, $144 million contract with the Padres last Saturday, February 17th.  

The Martinez-Sox agreement was first reported this Tuesday by ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez.

It’s done. JD Martínez is a Red Sox.

— Pedro Gomez (@pedrogomezESPN) February 19, 2018

And later that day, the news of the latest off-season deal broke across Twitter.

sources: red sox closing in on a deal for jd martinez, the big move the team needed. https://t.co/z3Z1fVofCy

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 19, 2018

Reports out of Boston: JD Martinez is signing with the Red Sox

— Jensen Lewis (@JLEWFifty) February 19, 2018

The Red Sox and J.D. Martinez have not yet officially confirmed the signing, as Martinez still needs to undergo a physical. Results should be expected later this week.

The free agent was just what the Sox were looking for after last year’s season total of just 168 home runs, the lowest in the American League. Despite winning the AL East in 2017, the Sox didn’t get the power they were hoping for in players like Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland.

Martinez, who hit a career high 45 home runs for Detroit and Arizona last year, seems to be exactly what Boston needs after losing slugger David Ortiz at the end of the 2016 season.

According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, Martinez has arrived at the Red Sox spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla. A press conference to confirm the signing was rumored to happen on Thursday, February 22nd, but did not take place due to the incomplete review of his physical. 

The Red Sox announced they will not have a press conference to announce J.D. Martinez today. Asked if there were a snag, agent Scott Boras said, "I have no information from them other than 'the review is not yet complete.'" Sox doctors are reviewing the tests and MRI's.

— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) February 22, 2018

So long as Martinez and the Sox hold off on confirming the deal, baseball fans will just have to wait in the dark a little longer.