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| (Getty Images) |
Red Sox slugger
J.D. Martinez will
not opt-out of his 5-year contract, and will remain in Boston for the 2020 season—at a cost of $23.75 million. This is good news and bad news: good, in the sense of keeping an offensive force in the middle of the line-up; bad, in the sense of putting more pressure on Red Sox ownership as they strive to get under the MLB luxury tax threshold ($208 million). What we're
really saying is this decision makes it even less likely that
Mookie Betts returns to the team—since he now may be dealt in the off-season. In his two seasons in Boston thus far, Martinez has hit .317, with 79 HRs and 235 RBIs. He has also delivered a .985 OPS.
