Dodgers Reportedly Balked at Asking Price in 2022 Trade Talks with Boston to Acquire JD Martinez
The Dodgers signing J.D. Martinez this past offseason for just $10 million was one of the steals of the winter. He became one of the more effective members of the Dodgers lineup, even with him missing some time due to injury.
He hit .271 with 33 home runs and 103 runs batted in over the course of the season, and he was the big power-hitting right-handed bat LA had been missing. Martinez helped this lineup set records offensively, and it was great to see as the year went on.
However, it seems that Martinez almost back a member of the Dodgers prior to the 2022 season. According to writer Rob Bradford of WEEI, Martinez was close to being traded to LA during the trade deadline last season.
“According to a source, the Red Sox were very close to dealing J.D. Martinez to the Dodgers heading into the 2022 Trade Deadline. But in the final moments, the Sox asked for an additional arm: Evan Phillips. That ended that.”
While the Dodgers would have loved to get Martinez for the stretch run last season, they weren’t giving up Phillips. He has been very solid for them out of the bullpen as the closer, and LA doesn’t view that lightly.
Martinez likely could have made a difference in the postseason series against the San Diego Padres, but unfortunately, we won’t ever get to know. The Dodgers ended up getting outfielder Joey Gallo instead, and that didn’t work out in the way anyone would have hoped.
While the team wasn’t going to trade Phillips, this is another example of the front office missing out on a solid player at the deadline. It seems that with each trade deadline of late, LA has gone bargain bin shopping and it comes back to bite them.
We saw it again this season as well with the starting rotation. Even though to their credit, the team did land starter Eduardo Rodríguez from the Detroit Tigers before he vetoed the deal.
Hopefully, the front office will learn from these mistakes moving forward, and they make sure to get the future teams what they need to be successful. There has been enough underperforming with this franchise, and enough is enough.
