Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez finds himself in the midst of what manager Alex Cora referred to as a “mini slump.”
Martinez, Boston’s predominant designated hitter who recently has been moved to the outfield with Kyle Schwarber in the fold, is 1-for-16 in his last four games entering Thursday against the Minnesota Twins. Martinez hasn’t recorded a hit in his past three contests, including going 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position during Wednesday’s loss to the Twins.
Cora was asked Thursday what he’s seen from Martinez during the recent stretch, and Boston’s manager provided some insight into what the four-time All-Star has been hindered by.
“With J.D., it’s always interesting, right, because he’s always been aggressive. He swings the bat, but I do believe lately it’s been more than usual,” Cora said on a video conference with reporters. “I don’t want to say he’s fighting his mechanics, but it seems like he’s chasing pitches in certain spots and he’s not being able to drive the ball.”
Cora further explained how it’s been a topic of conversation recently, and is hopeful Martinez will continue to put good at-bats together, even if that means limiting his aggressiveness at the plate.
“Sometimes you get out of slumps, or mini slumps, swinging (and) sometimes it should be the other way around,” Cora said. “Kind of recognize what they’re doing, who you are — because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if he’s hot or not they’re going to go right after him — and hit a few line drives to right field, take a few walks and get locked in.
“That’s something we’ve been talking about for a while. His swing rate, his chase rate has been going up,” Cora added. “Obviously he feels like he’s such an important part of this offense that he feels the burden of ‘Yeah, I got to do my part.’ But sometimes doing your part is actually taking pitches, walking and keep the line moving. So we’ve been talking about that.”
Martinez is swinging a .283 bat with 23 home runs and 79 RBIs, but he hasn’t recorded either in his last eight games. Hopefully that will be different when the Red Sox take the field at Fenway Park on Thursday with their sights on a series-clinching win, which you can watch live on NESN.
