BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 3: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox hits a single during the seventh inning of a game against the Texas Rangers on September 3, 2022 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
These three Boston Red Sox free agents will not be back for the 2023 season.
If Boston Red Sox fans are eager for change, they will see plenty of it through free agency next year. The team has a whole lot of guys eligible for free agency this winter. In a year where heads should roll after, it’s clear some major changes need to be made.
Boston did manage to trade a few of their pending free agents at the trade deadline so there aren’t quite as many as there were earlier in the year. The team did still hold onto a couple of other notable players on expiring contracts. Many of them will be gone.
What about those with opt-outs or mutual options? Could they be headed elsewhere? As it currently stands, it’s these three Red Sox players we should expect to land elsewhere in free agency.
1) Red Sox are wasting their time with another season of J.D. Martinez
J.D. Martinez has been a very good member of the Red Sox roster for several years now. However, with age catching up and his power numbers declining, it’s tough to see him as a fit for the team moving forward. While still a very productive hitter and even an All-Star in every season that season as a member of the club other than 2020 when there was no Midsummer Classic, he will be remembered fondly.
Health concerns for Martinez this year should have the Red Sox considering a change at the DH spot. Relegated exclusively there for probably the rest of his career, it’s rarely a good idea to have a player that you can’t put out on defense at any point.
The decision to sign Martinez before the 2018 season had an immediate pay off with a World Series win for Boston in his first year. Now several seasons later and him looking far more broken, it’s time to move on.