It didn’t take long for the Boston Red Sox’s Winter Weekend to get pretty compelling, with the state of the team’s courtship of free-agent outfielder J.D. Martinez getting some more clarity Friday.
The Red Sox are in “active negotiations” with the slugger, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner told reporters at Foxwoods.
Tom Werner: "We are in active negotiations with JD Martinez." Emphasizes it takes two to get a deal done. pic.twitter.com/Th5iAkISsr
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 19, 2018
Tom Werner says the #RedSox are having "active negotiations" with JD Martinez and they hope to sign him or obtain another significant hitter.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) January 19, 2018
Tom Werner confirms Red Sox in active negotiations with Jd Martinez but “it takes two to make a deal.” Said the Sox will most definitely have the highest payroll they’ve ever had.
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) January 19, 2018
Earlier Friday, the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman reported the Red Sox offered the 30-year-old a five-year deal worth $125 million. Silverman’s report comes just a few days after ESPN’s Buster Olney reported a deal of the same length, but worth $100 million. Martinez’s agent, Scott Boras, later refuted that report.
The remark about taking two to make a deal certainly is an interesting one, especially given a report earlier this week from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman that Martinez is willing to hold out until he gets the right deal.
Martinez clubbed 45 home runs last season while hitting .303 between the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
