Predicting where these 5 remaining NY Mets free agents will sign

4) J.D. Martinez

The Mets signed J.D. Martinez with the hope he could provide some thump in the line-up. After hitting 33 home runs with an isolated slugging percentage of .301 with the LA Dodgers in 2023, Martinez looked like he and Alonso could be one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches in baseball. Unfortunately, Martinez did not live up to those expectations.

The designated hitter batted just .235/.320/.406 with a .318 wOBA and 108 wRC+ through 495 plate appearances. Martinez provided slightly above-average pop with 16 homers and a .171 isolated slugging percentage, but he is a far cry from what he did in 2023. While he had a solid 9.9% walk rate, he struck out in 28.5% of his plate appearances.

Martinez’s numbers weren’t good, especially for a designated hitter. But there were still signs of stuff left in the tank. His 91 MPH exit velo was in the 78th percentile of batters and right around his career average of 91.4 MPH. He still had an outstanding 14.9% barrel rate, which was in the 94th percentile and among the top 20 batters in baseball. He was also above the 85th percentile of xwOBA at .351 and xSLG% at .472.

Martinez has pondered retirement, and that seems like it’s a complete possibility. After all, if he plays in 2025, it will be his age-37 season, and will turn 38 before the end of the campaign. But his underlying numbers seem too good for no teams to show interest and offer Martinez enough to return for another season. If Martinez ends up returning for another season, the Los Angeles Angels seem like a potential fit. Martinez will be put in a lower pressure environment, and if he does well, will likely find himself on a competitive team by the second half of the season.