Toronto Blue Jays Have Emerged a 'Dark Horse Candidate' to Sign J.D. Martinez
It appears that free agent outfielder J.D. Martinez may be on the Toronto Blue Jays' radar.
According to FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman, there's a chance the Blue Jays may emerge as a "dark horse candidate" to land the All-Star slugger this offseason.
"But while the Blue Jays may not consider themselves a favorite for Martinez, he fits their need for a corner outfielder and they have at least considered him," Heyman said in his report.
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"They may be a bit leery of where the price might go after his monster season — his .690 slugging percentage would have been the highest since Barry Bonds with a few more plate appearances to qualify — and they've lost out to some big free agents in recent years (Dexter Fowler is an example), but he is at least on their radar," he continued.
Martinez posted a 0.303/0.376/0.690 slash line in 119 games with the Detroit Tigers and the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He also had 104 runs batted in and 45 home runs in 489 plate appearances.
After a slow start to the season with the Tigers, Martinez was traded to Arizona and he had 29 homers and 65 RBIs in 62 games with the Diamondbacks.
Martinez would be an interesting option for the Blue Jays, but ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has recently reported that his agent was seeking a contract in the $200 million range. That could be a problem.
Meanwhile, Heyman has noted that the Blue Jays are interested in outfielder Jay Bruce as well.
In 146 games with the New York Mets and the Cleveland Indians last season, Bruce posted a 0.254/0.324/0.508 slash line, and he had 101 runs batted in and 36 home runs in 617 plate appearances.
Bruce is a cheaper option if the Blue Jays are unwilling to spend the money to sign Martinez.
