Mets will option J.D. Martinez to minors to build up at-bats before joining team
J.D. Martinez is coming to the Mets, but his regular season debut will likely be a bit after Opening Day.
Martinez, who agreed to a one-year deal with the club on Thursday, will begin the regular season in the minors to get enough at-bats to prepare, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
The slugger has minor league options remaining, and he has given the team consent to send him down prior to Opening Day.
"That's a conversation I just had with him," the skipper said. "It's like when position players report. He's gonna take BP on the field, then he'll advance to live at-bats and facing live pitching. He's going to stay back obviously, and we'll have a lot of pitchers throwing to him, so he'll get a ton of at-bats."
With Martinez officially being optioned, the club will need to wait a minimum of 10 days before activating him, but Mendoza said they won't rush things with the 36-year-old.
"It will be a transaction on paper so it'll be at least 10 days before he can get called back up, after that we just have to keep it fluent and see where he's at and go from there," he said.
"This is a guy who knows himself, knows his body, knows his swing better than anybody. We'll have those conversations and make sure that we're not rushing anything here because we have to keep him healthy."
When he is ultimately ready, the first-year manager said that Martinez "100 percent" will be hitting fourth in the Mets' lineup behind slugging first baseman Pete Alonso.
"He's a special hitter," Mendoza said. "I've been on the other side against him for years, so for us to have him is special. He's an impactful hitter and the lineup is deeper with him in it, so we're excited to have him."
