Last offseason the Los Angeles Dodgers took a gamble that reuniting J.D. Martinez with Mookie Betts and hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc would benefit the veteran slugger as he was coming off a down year with the Boston Red Sox.
Martinez wound up being reinvigorated with the Dodgers and also helped provide motivation for Betts in an MVP-caliber season.
Despite that success, Martinez was a secondary option for the Dodgers at the start of free agency this year due to their pursuit of Shohei Ohtani. That ended over the weekend with Ohtani announcing he was signing with the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million contract.
Martinez now is considered unlikely to re-sign with the Dodgers, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are looking for a reunion while also having interest in Justin Turner, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
The Arizona Diamondbacks are hopeful of signing free-agent DH J.D. Martinez now that the Dodgers no longer need him, with Justin Turner also in play.
The Dodgers were said to have interest in re-signing Martinez if their quest for Ohtani fell short. That came with the risk of Martinez potentially signing with another team while the Dodgers awaited a decision from Ohtani, but such a scenario never came to be.
It’s plausible Martinez was equally willing to take a deliberate approach in free agency until Ohtani signed due to enjoying what may end up being just one season with the Dodgers.
Martinez was named the starting DH for the National League in the 2023 All-Star Game and hit .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs, 103 RBI, 61 runs scored and a 135 wRC+.
Martinez previously played for the Diamondbacks during the 2017 season. He hit three home runs at Dodger Stadium in Game 1 of the NL Division Series that year.
Can the Dodgers re-sign J.D. Martinez?
While not a likely scenario, the Dodgers theoretically could still look to re-sign Martinez if they believe he is capable of playing left field.
Martinez logged just 12 innings in left field over three games (one start) this past season, but hasn’t played the position extensively since his 299.1 innings in 2021.
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