Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees have had some contact with J.D. Martinez, a slugging DH who could help the lineup while Giancarlo Stanton is hurt. Last season he posted a 108 wRC+ and 0.6 fWAR with the New York Mets, hitting 16 home runs in 120 games with a massive differential in his actual and expected metrics. The Yankees are hoping that they can just get their star slugger in Stanton back, but there’s some uncertainty on when his return would actually be.

Without Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees are in a precarious situation with their offense, but the addition of J.D. Martinez would raise its own questions regarding roster construction. The organization is aware of those questions, as Heyman reported a sense of hesitancy due to their hope that they’ll get Stanton back during the season.

Yankees Contact J.D. Martinez, Expectation Remains that Giancarlo Stanton Will Return

Spending 2024 with the Mets, J.D. Martinez provided a much-needed spark to their lineup during the first half of the season but slowed down in the second half. His OPS dropped from .806 to .623 after the All-Star Break, but he could be even better with the Yankees with how well he drives the ball to right field. Last season Martinez would have hit six more home runs had he played all of his games at Yankee Stadium, raising his total to 22.

With a strong opposite-field approach, J.D Martinez could attack right field aggressively, but the Yankees know that they have some young internal options like Ben Rice who can get time at DH. What we could see is a cheap contract that allows Martinez to get a larger share of his at-bats against LHP, with Rice taking a good chunk of the DH at-bats against RHP.

In 2024 J.D. Martinez slugged .466 against LHP with a 139 wRC+, and that could be extremely valuable given what the Yankees will be without Giancarlo Stanton.

Aging right-handed sluggers in the final stages of their career, J.D. Martinez and Giancarlo Stanton share a lot of similarities, and that both make this a seamless fit short-term and a terrible fit long-term. There’s no chance at this point of his career that J.D. Martinez could handle an outfield spot, nor will the Yankees task Giancarlo Stanton with reps in the outfield.

The fact that they’ve even reached out to J.D Martinez could be an indication that either Giancarlo Stanton’s injury is truly serious or that the Yankees believe they can get a veteran bat for cheap. Roster fit matters, which is why they probably don’t want to spend a notable sum of cash on Martinez in free agency when every addition comes at a 110% tax, but you’ll take a DH making close to nothing if you can get one.

If the Yankees continue to stare down J.D. Martinez, his lack of suitors could force him into a situation where he takes whatever he can get on the market. He’s already missed the first week of Spring Training, and the further he falls behind the lower the odds of him having a spot on a team gets. The expensive teams have their DH spot set in stone and the ones who could use the firepower are too cheap to add one; maybe the Yankees swoop in and get a steal.