Brewers: Making a Trade Proposal with Boston for J.D. Martinez

As the calendar creeps closer to August 2nd, it is becoming clearer who will be adding to their roster at the Trade Deadline and who will be subtracting. After a recent skid, the Boston Red Sox could very well become one of the sellers of the trade deadline, meaning it might be time for David Stearns to call Chaim Bloom about a potential trade to add J.D. Martinez to the Brewers.

The Red Sox have fallen to .500, and 4th place in the American League East. They may look to trade away talent at the deadline, meaning the Brewers should call about J.D. Martinez.

One of the upcoming free agents currently on the Red Sox roster is designated hitter J.D. Martinez. The 34-year old slugger is in the final year of his five year deal he signed after the 2017 season.

While not great on defense, Martinez excels at offense and is once again putting together a strong season. Among players who have spent a majority of their time as DH, his 139 wRC+ is second to only Yordan Alvarez.

The highest wRC+ on the Brewers roster among qualified hitters is Willy Adames with a 113 wRC+.

Martinez is having an uncharacteristic season in regards to home runs, he only has 9 on the year, despite that Martinez has 30 doubles, and a .481 slugging percentage, which would again be the best on the Brewers.

Getting out of Fenway perhaps would help Martinez hit more home runs, as he hits to left field and American Family Field’s left field wall is much shorter than the Green Monster.

Martinez does strikeout a lot, and does not walk much; however, he is a pure hitter. His 13.5% barrel rate is the highest since 2018, and he is among the league leaders in xwOBA, xBA, and xSLG.

What would a Brewers trade for J.D. Martinez look like?

Given that Martinez is soon to be 35, and will be a free agent after the season, the Brewers would likely not have to give up as much as they would if they were to trade for a player such as Juan Soto for example, or Ramón Laureano.

Milwaukee Brewers receive: DH J.D. Martinez

Boston Red Sox receive LHP Ethan Small and INF Freddy Zamora

The Brewers would give up an MLB ready pitcher in Ethan Small, who would be able to slot into Boston’s rotation or bullpen, both of which have been struggles for Boston this season. The Brewers would also trade 2020 draft pick Freddy Zamora.

After a strong debut season in 2021, Zamora has struggled in Double-A Biloxi. Zamora is a defensive first shortstop, and could act as a stop gap for Boston until Marcelo Mayer is ready to take over in Boston, assuming Trevor Story does not make the position change.

Zamora could also be a solid utility player who could play second, short, or third for Boston.

Will the trade happen?

If this trade would come to fruition is dependent on a couple of factors.

1. Is Boston going to sell?
   • They currently sit in 4th place, and are 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, they are not out of the race by any means. FanGraphs currently has gives Boston a 26.7% chance to make the postseason, and all it takes is one hot stretch to be back in the thick of it.
2. Would ownership approve adding more money to the payroll?
   • While David Stearns has always said that Mark Attanasio is willing to spend more at the Trade Deadline to better the team, Attanasio also said the Brewers stretched the budget to bring McCutchen aboard. With Martinez due approximately $7 million for the rest of the season, that might stretch the already ‘stretched’ budget.

If the Red Sox do decide to trade Martinez, and if Stearns can convince Attanasio to add to the budget, the Brewers should be calling to bolster their lineup and add an elite hitter to the team.

This would be a fair offer that would work out well for both the Brewers and the Red Sox.