A signing to build the Cuban fanbase?

This off-season will show just how much owner Bruce Sherman cares about the Miami Marlins. The Miami Marlins have a historically bad offense and we desperately need improvements. The Fish also happen to be playing in majority Cuban neighborhood Little Havana. Does it make sense for us to sign hometown boy J.D. Martinez this off-season?

Should the Miami Marlins target J.D. Martinez this off-season?

Let’s get something out of the way first, J.D. Martinez “was” a stud hitter, and he’s not really as much of an impact bat anymore. In his prime he was an ideal middle of the order bat. He had a .330/.402/.629 batting line in 2018 along with 43 home runs and 130 RBI. In 2019 he batted .304/.383/.557 with 36 home runs and 105 RBI. Last season he batted .286/.349/.518 with 28 home runs and 99 RBI. He’s not as good this season let’s just say.

J.D. Martinez is a Cuban-American from Miami and would probably love to finish out his career at home. I’m pretty sure that if marketed enough, there would be a lot of Cuban-Americans in Miami who would be more interested in the team if he played as well.

Do the Miami Marlins need J.D. Martinez? The slugger is pretty limited defensively and can really only play DH. This might not be the ideal situation for The Fish of course, but he’s still an offensive upgrade. He also could serve a useful role as a mentor for the players as well as take on a role of a clubhouse leader. He’s a former World Champion and has experience in quite a few pennant races.

How much would the Miami Marlins have to pay for him? Well first of all I doubt that the Boston Red Sox issue him a qualifying offer, so he won’t cost The Fish a draft pick. He will likely have to accept a one or two year deal at something along the lines of $10-13 million a year. That is a perfectly reasonable price that there’s no excuse for Kim Ng not to be able to pay, unless Bruce Sherman proves to not care about the team.

Should the Miami Marlins sign J.D. Martinez? I think that it makes sense as he won’t cost much and brings veteran leadership and an offensive upgrade to the team. What do you think?