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| J.D. Martinez |
It's pretty clear what's keeping the Red Sox from running away with the AL East—
an inconsistent, sometimes sputtering offense. The lack of production from the middle of the order has been
brutal in the last several weeks. Part of it is due to nagging injuries to both
Mitch Moreland (fractured toe) and
Xander Bogaerts (bruised hand).
But excuses don't win pennants. Boston's starting pitching and bullpen have been stellar—it's the
bats we can't count on. So, there has been recent speculation that—in addition to trading for a third-baseman—Boston should
also add a big bat. Unfortunately, the best "big bat" on the market is both an outfielder
and a free agent at the end of the year—Detroit's
J.D. Martinez. He's batting .308 this season, with 16 HRs and a whopping 1.025 OPS (in just 57 games). But to paraphrase the immortal words of
Eddie Andelman (who we've made reference to
twice this week):
"Where would we play J.D. Martinez?" After all, he's primarily an outfielder—but who of
The Killer Bees do you bench to play him? He
could DH in place of
Hanley Ramirez—but think of the meg-problems
that would create. Despite all of these hurdles, most reporting has
the Red Sox showing strong interest in Martinez—along with the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks. Stay tuned!
