Boston Red Sox refuse to bid against themselves for J.D. Martinez

The Boston Red Sox have been linked to J.D. Martinez all winter. And yet, the free agent outfielder remains unsigned. Don’t expect the Red Sox to increase their offer to change that.

It has seemed to be just a matter of time until the Boston Red Sox signed outfielder J.D. Martinez. He had been linked to the team from the moment the offseason started, and seemed to be the answer to the Red Sox power shortage. In his outstanding 2017 campaign, he produced a .303/.376/.690 batting line, hitting a career best 45 homers. Naturally, with that campaign, he appeared to be in line for a substantial payday.

Instead, Martinez has had few offers. The Red Sox offered a five year contract worth more than $100 million, but he did not accept that. His former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, remain interested, but are unlikely to come close to the Red Sox offered deal. Martinez, meanwhile, is holding firm on his asking price, threatening to wait into Spring Training if need be.

While the outfielder is looking to force teams to meet his asking price, the Red Sox are taking the same approach. They are refusing to essentially bid against themselves and raise their offer, although Scott Boras is attempting to engage in “good faith” negotiations.

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While it is understandable that Martinez and Boras would want the Red Sox to increase their offer, they do not have any reason to. Boras does not have his infamous ‘mystery team’ to fall back upon, preying on the idea that another team could swoop in and ink the free agent outfielder. Boston is, at this point, competing with Boston for his services.

Of course, there are ways that the duo could get their way. Boras does have a history of attempting to circumvent a particularly stubborn general manager, as he is finding in Dave Dombrowski. He may well attempt to speak to Red Sox ownership directly, as he seeks to get every last cent for Martinez in his limited market.

Yet, there is no guarantee that would work. Ownership has to be aware that the Diamondbacks, the only other known threat for Martinez, would have to be creative to afford to bring him back. Martinez may not want the Red Sox offer, but Boston has no reason to cave in to his demands either.

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J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox remain at a stalemate, as the team refuses to bid against itself.