2024 Mets Report Card: J.D. Martinez, DH

J.D. Martinez, DH

Player Data: Age: 35 (08/21/1987) B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: 120 G, 495 PA, .235/.320/.406, 102 H, 16 HR, 69 RBI
Advanced Stats: 108 wRC+, 28.5 K%, 9.9 BB%, .308 BABIP, .356 xwOBA (.318 wOBA), 0.6 fWAR

2024 Salary: $12 million

Grade: C-

2024 Review

The Mets signed J.D. Martinez to a one-year, $12 million deal less than a week before Opening Day. The idea was to add some thump to a Mets lineup that sorely needed it.

And, for much of the year, Martinez provided that. Given his age and how late he signed, he didn’t debut with the Mets until April 26. But he shined through most of the early part of the season, posting a 133 wRC+ in May and a 149 wRC+ in June. He swatted nine of his eventual 16 home runs in those two months alone.

If the season were to end after June, he’d probably get at least a B or a B+. His wRC+ was right around his career mark of 130, along with the 135 he put up in 113 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.

Gradually, though, Martinez cooled off. He only hit two homers in July, to go along with a .235 average. He was fairly average with the bat in both July and August, posting wRC+ marks of 98 and 106 in the two months, respectively. His production was still valuable, but fairly underwhelming based on how he started the campaign. His power returned in August with five homers, but he only hit .217 with a .294 OBP.

Then September happened. In 63 plate appearances between September and October (regular season only), Martinez went just 6-for-55 with no home runs, good for a 17 wRC+. His lack of production at the end of the season took a big hit to his overall numbers, bringing his season wRC+ almost all the way down to league average.

Aside from the shortened 2020 season (54 games), a 108 wRC+ was Martinez’s worst since 2013, when he was still a Houston Astro. Same goes for his WAR.

Remember, in 2018, Martinez was a legitimately elite bat. He hit .330 with a 170 wRC+ that year for the Boston Red Sox. Though regression is to be expected with age, he’d still been a well above average bat for the last several years — and even for the first half of his season with the Mets.

Additionally concerning was Martinez’s .171 ISO, which was also his lowest since 2013 (this time, including 2020). In fairness, though, he also had comparable power numbers in 2022, a year fueled by a much higher BABIP (.345 compared to .308 this year). His strikeout and walk rates this year were more or less in line with his career norms.

Martinez briefly woke up in the postseason, going 4-for-14 with three RBIs in the first two series. He went 0-for-4 between two games in the NLCS against the Dodgers, but with two walks in each game. His postseason average ended up at .222 with no extra-base hits. The six walks he drew in the playoffs gave him a .417 OBP in the very limited sample. Overall, he was mostly a non-factor one way or the other in the postseason.

A C- felt fair for Martinez given that he underwhelmed his expectations, but still provided value to the Mets for a significant portion of the season. A C or C+ probably would have been too generous, considering how poorly he finished and that his overall numbers noticeably declined from recent years. But anything in the D range would have been too harsh, considering how good Martinez was for about half the season.

2025 Overview

Martinez’s days in the orange and blue are probably over, unless he wants to return in the hitting coach role that people have half-seriously quipped about. Plus, if the Mets make their Juan Soto dreams a reality, there won’t be much of a pressing need for Martinez. The question of whether they bring Pete Alonso back could also play into that (though Martinez isn’t reliable enough at his age now to simply “replace” Alonso’s spot in the lineup).

While his career is evidently winding down, he has indicated that he wants to keep playing. Martinez originally signed with the Mets because he was “addicted to the playoffs,” so it’s most likely he’ll want to pursue negotiations with another playoff contender. That could still be the Mets, especially if he struggles to garner interest, but it certainly won’t be the primary focus of the offseason for either side.

And, in all reality, it’s hard to imagine Martinez putting up a wRC+ in the 130 range over a full season again. But some team, on another one-year deal, will likely try to milk any last juice out of him in 2025.

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