The Miami Marlins should sign a hometown bat

The Miami Marlins need a new designated hitter, and it might not be so bad that the current one is likely gone. The 2023 DH Jorge Soler was injury-prone and inconsistent his whole career, so it would be nice to have an upgrade. That upgrade could be none other than Soler's Silver Slugger competitor in 2023. I'm of course talking about Miami native J.D. Martinez. Should The Fish target him?

The Miami Marlins should consider signing J.D. Martinez as the new designated hitter.

J.D. Martinez has been one of the best hitters in the game for a significant amount of time. Since breaking out in 2015, JDM has been batting .291/.359/.549 for the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He won the World Series with Boston in 2018, and had a strong showing with LA last season.

J.D. Martinez batted .271/.321/.572, with 33 home runs and 103 RBI in 113 games and 432 AB. That was a great showing, and he was worth 1.9 WAR. That was actually better (just slightly) than Jorge Soler's 1.8 WAR. Martinez is already 36 years old, so he's in the twilight of his career. He can however provide at least one more good season, and he might not be against doing so for his hometown team.

Martinez is likely to receive a one or two year deal, with something like a $13 million annual salary. It shouldn't be an issue for the Miami Marlins to afford that. There's definitely going to be interest in him from higher spending teams, but being a mentor on a hometown team may appeal to J.D. Signing him of course comes with concerns over a potential decline, but it should be worth bringing his bat into the lineup.

This is a bad market for hitters, so an overpay might be needed to land a good bat. J.D. Martinez is on of the best and more affordable bats available. It makes a lot of sense for the Miami Marlins to try and sign the slugger for the 2024 season, especially with a potential boost in fan attendance based on his Cuban heritage and hometown player status.