Arizona Diamondbacks slugger JD Martinez is definitely interested in coming back to the team. Martinez was extremely frank about his wishes in an interview with azcentral Sports, opening up about his desire to return and insisting that money was not what mattered to him. His focus, he said, was on being part of a team that had a real chance and wanted to compete.
"It's definitely something I'd love and be interested in. I've loved my time here. The guys are great. The team is young. They're definitely going to be good for a while. One of the most important things in my free agency is that I want to be on a team that's relevant — a team that's good, a team that's in it. I don't want to be on a team just because they offer the most money. I want to be on a team that's got a chance. That's what's fun. That's what you play the game for."
Twenty-Nine Homers, Half A Season
During his two and a half months with the team, he hit more home runs than any player had managed in a long time. His 29 home runs helped Arizona no end. He has been one of the most dangerous hitters in the game for the last four years, and he carried that form into free agency. When he first arrived at the Diamondbacks, it was assumed he was nothing more than a temporary bat, brought in for the short term.
As a free agent, he will be able to choose where to make the jump. Martinez added that he had been through a lot of losing before, and had not found it a fun experience — and that he would avoid going through that again if he could.
The Free-Agency Gamble
The main problem for Arizona is that they will not be the only team chasing Martinez. What is worse is that it is practically guaranteed he will be paid far more elsewhere than Arizona can offer. While he has said he is not interested in money and would rather be part of a "relevant" team, there are plenty of relevant teams out there with deeper pockets who would want him.
Keeping him may be a risky decision given his age, but Arizona is reportedly keen to bring him back, according to a report by The Boston Globe. The one thing Arizona has on its side is that Martinez wants to be there himself. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe pointed to sources who believed Martinez would prefer to play in a secondary market than join a big-market team at this stage of his career.
Now, while it is all very well to speculate about where Martinez will end up, for the moment no one can be sure. Everything is up in the air — and in a game of baseball, nothing is decided until it is decided.