BOSTON -- J.D. Martinez's message is loud and clear, backed up by home runs, exit velocity and launch angle: He was worth the money.
Martinez entered last offseason as one of the top free agents after a four-season run as one of the game's top hitters and coming off a monster 2017 campaign with the Tigers and Diamondbacks in which he hit 45 home runs and slugged .690 in 119 games.
He remained unsigned through the Winter Meetings and through January and into February. Finally, after spring training had already started, Martinez landed in Boston where everyone had predicted, giving the Red Sox the power bat they needed after finishing last in the American League in home runs in 2017.