The New York Mets are “eyeing” J.D. Martinez, Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote on Thursday.
Heyman mentioned the Mets and the Los Angeles Angels as two teams interested in the 36-year-old slugger. The Angels are an obvious fit after losing their DH in Shohei Ohtani, while the Mets could simply benefit from adding some extra oomph to their lineup.
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The Mets’ biggest weakness is likely still their starting pitching — especially after missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto — but they’ve been looking to bolster their lineup this offseason as well. They’ve already been connected to old friend Justin Turner, who Heyman also mentioned as being a fit for the Mets, Angels, or Arizona Diamondbacks. Turner or Martinez would fill a similar role, with each being in the latter half of their 30s but still having some juice in their bat.
Martinez is coming off a strong season with the Dodgers. He batted .271 with an .893 OPS, swatting 33 home runs and collecting 103 RBIs. With the Dodgers signing Ohtani, L.A. has its DH position safely secured, eliminating the chance it might want to reunite with Martinez.
Without any additions, the Mets’ current DH is probably some combination of DJ Stewart and Mark Vientos. While Stewart was a pleasant surprise last season and Vientos still has potential, it would be risky to rely on either of them to take on that role full-time.
