February 21st, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Although it may be a headscratcher for many Dodgers fans as to why Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman would sign a 35-year-old / 12-year MLB veteran outfielder like J.D. Martinez to a one-year / $10 million contract when he has a stable full of outfielders a decade (or more) younger than the Miami, FL native and 20th-round draft pick in 2009 by the Houston Astros out of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL, but that is exactly what the Dodgers executive did this past December 29th.
Martinez, who spent three seasons in Houston (2011-2013), four with the Detroit Tigers (2014-2017), one with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2017), and five with the Boston Red Sox (2018-2022) with whom he was a four-time All-Star and won a World Series ring in 2018 (against the Dodgers, no less), made it abundantly clear on Monday afternoon that he is very happy to be a Dodger.
“I was at the point in my career where I made my contracts, I had won a World Series already, I’ve been wanting to win another one,” Martinez told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson during an exclusive interview on Monday afternoon. “I’ve always been… (had) respect for the Dodgers. I’ve played against them for so many years, and they’re always in the playoffs, they’re always in the mix. That’s one of the main reasons I’m here – the opportunity to win. It’s a great organization.
“Not many people can say they played for one of the biggest teams in the East and one of the biggest teams in the West, so I’m excited and I just want to win,” Martinez added.
(SportsNet LA)
Although Martinez is technically still listed as an outfielder, he served as the Red Sox primary Designated Hitter for the past several seasons, the role that he is expected to fill for the Dodgers, with the DH now in the National League. And make no mistake about it, he was a very successful DH while with “…one of the biggest teams in the East,” where he posted a very respectable .292 / .363 / .526 / .889 slash line, with 130 home runs and 423 RBI in his five seasons in Beantown.
Welcome to “…one of the biggest teams in the West,” J.D.
Play Ball!
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Although I am a huge fan of Justin Turner, I can’t think of a better replacement on the team than Martinez. Everything I have read and heard is so positive, from his on-field performance to his clubhouse presence, leadership, and willingness to mentor young players. Best wishes to JT — welcome to the Dodgers JD Martinez.
It will take all of one home run for Martinez to become a Dodgers fan-favorite … maybe not of Justin Turner’s caliber (at least not initially), but I believe that it WILL happen.
JP are you going to Spring Training this yr.
We had planned to be there but a couple of family matters has impacted our schedule, so ST had to be scrubbed from the calendar.
Me as well. I hope everything is ok.
Steve
A-OK — just life happening
a head scratcher is an understatement.
there was a time when every move the front office made sense to me even if i didn’t like it. they were almost always good business decisions.
the things they are doing now makes me wonder if FZ was the brains of the operation.
signing a gloveless player, (he’s not just bad, remember how Boston moved him around in that 18 WS?) goes against everything they have done in the past. this means that the strategy of getting guys a blow while keeping the lineup essentially intact is no longer an option.
we’ll not have smith in the line up at least once a week or it will mean battery mate preference will no longer be taken into account. it means max will probably be out of the line up at least once a week. it means that if they prefer rojas’ glove, they surrender vargas’ bat. it means they eliminated the possibility to employ dozens of moves they made last year.
perhaps we’ll see the return of joe torre’s “surrender sundays” i hope not.