PORT ST. LUCIE — J.D. Martinez has joined the Mets for the final few days of spring training, but he won’t break camp with the team.
The newest Mets slugger passed his physical to make his contract official. But the earliest he could start the season is April 7. Martinez has been hitting all winter but he still has to go through a spring training progression. The Mets have to option him to be able to put him in extended spring training, which they will do on Opening Day. Teams have to wait 10 days to recall a player they optioned, which will give Martinez 15 days in Port St. Lucie to get ready for the season.
However, the progression may take more than 15 days. The Mets are not yet ready to set a firm debut timeline.
“It sucks because I want to break camp with the team and be a part of Opening Day. That’s a special thing to be a part of,” Martinez said Saturday at Clover Park. “But I’ve got to get my body ready. I’ve got to have my spring training now. I’ve got to get ready for the season. The last thing I want to do is rush through it and get hurt, so I want to make sure I take it slow and build my body back up to get back out there.”
Martinez has been hitting 4-5 days a week at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, where the DH played college ball, but still has to face big league pitching. He hasn’t seen a 100 mph fastball since October, so competitive at-bats are needed.
“I’ve been lifting, hitting and running but it’s one of those things where it doesn’t take the place of actual baseball,” Martinez said. “It’s kind of a spot where you could train as hard as you want all offseason but nothing gets you ready like actual baseball. I’ve just got to get out there, I’ve got to see live pitching.”
This isn’t the first time Martinez has signed after the start of spring training, having signed with the Boston Red Sox on Feb. 26, 2018, but that doesn’t make this any easier. Martinez is clearly relieved to have found a team before the official start of the 2024 season. However, he’s frustrated that it took this long, and sympathetic for those who are still unsigned.
“Honestly, it’s a shame,” Martinez said. “This is my third time [going through free agency] and this is my second late agreement now. With every year that goes by you expect it to kind of get more fair and clean itself up, and, honestly, it just seems like, here we go again. Every year it just gets worse and worse.”
Free agent spending was down this winter and some quality free agents signed late. Scott Boras, Martinez’s agent, represents three of the top late signees, Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger and Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. He also represents left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who has yet to find a deal.
The MLBPA is in a state of unrest as several members recently tried to oust deputy director Bruce Meyer. Tensions between the union and the league are starting to fray. Boras has been in the middle of it all, with unsigned clients and accusations that Meyer plays favorites with the notorious super agent.
“It almost feels like there are more teams out there not trying to win than teams that are trying to win,” Martinez said. “We thought with our last agreement — expanding the playoffs, making it more enticing for teams to compete — that it would change it and it’s kind of the same thing right now.”
Martinez turned down a contract with the San Francisco Giants this winter, citing the difficulties for hitters at Oracle Park. The thick marine layer that hangs over the city (locals call it “Karl the fog”) eats up the kind of fly balls Martinez hits. Bad numbers could affect his ability to continue playing after 2024.
So he waited patiently for the right opportunity, finding it in New York. He signed a one-year, $12 million contract that is heavily backloaded, knowing that he could have a chance to reach the postseason with the Mets.
“I’m addicted to the playoffs,” he said.
The addition of Martinez squeezes out Mark Vientos, a hitter Martinez has known for years with both of them having grown up around the same area and training at the same offseason facility. The 35-year-old was seen with his arm around Vientos during batting practice Saturday, giving the 24-year-old career advice as someone who was released at 25 and became an All-Star at 27.
“I gave him the example of my career,” Martinez said. “He understood it.”
