Ex-Mets, Red Sox 6-Time All-Star Predicted To Choose Royals In Free Agency Surprise
It may be time for the Kansas City Royals to make their move in free agency.
Excluding the Michael Wacha extension, which happened so fast after the season that it hardly registered as a free-agent signing, it's been a quiet winter so far for the Royals. They picked things up this week by landing Cavan Biggio and Michael Lorenzen, but are any bigger names walking through the door?
The number one need the Royals have right now is offense. Bobby Witt Jr. is a superstar, but there are precious few trustworthy bats behind him in the Kansas City order; essentially just Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino.
On Thursday, Nick Selbe and Will Laws of Sports Illustrated predicted that the Royals would shake things up in the middle of their order. The two tabbed Kansas City to land six-time All-Star designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who just finished up a one-year stint with the New York Mets.
"Martinez saw his three-year All-Star streak come to an end after posting his lowest wRC+ (108) for a full season since 2013," the authors wrote. "As a right-handed hitting DH-only bat, his next contract will likely be a pay cut from his ‘24 salary of $12 million. But clubs will value his veteran presence and dependability."
Even though Martinez's 2024 season ended up disappointing, he still shows all the signs of being a productive hitter. His .351 xwOBA was in the 86th percentile in 2024 and his 14.6% barrel rate was in the 94th percentile.
Everywhere Martinez goes, teammates rave about his abilities as an extra hitting coach. Mookie Betts credits him for helping his career take off with the Boston Red Sox, and Mark Vientos of the Mets was his latest successful protege.
Spotrac projects Martinez for a one-year, $9.5 million contract, which is a more-than-fair number both for the slugger and the Royals. If he can split the difference between his 2023 and 2024 seasons, Kansas City would be thrilled they grabbed him.
More MLB: Royals Projected $105M Free Agency Target Would Fix KC's Biggest 'Roster Hole'
Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org