Red Sox Rumors: J.D. Martinez Expected to Be Traded Regardless of Team's Performance

Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez is expected to be traded by MLB's Aug. 2 deadline, even if the club turns things around and starts performing better, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

An American League executive told Speier that he believes Martinez is "as good as gone."

The Red Sox are shopping Martinez ahead of the deadline, ESPN's Buster Olney (h/t Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors) reported earlier this week. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal added that he is generating interest from the New York Mets.

Martinez is in the final season of the five-year, $110 million deal he signed with the Red Sox ahead of the 2018 season and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

The Red Sox are in the midst of a highly disappointing season, entering Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers last in the American League East with a 50-51 record, 18.5 games behind the first-place New York Yankees.

Boston also has just a 24.6 percent chance to make the playoffs, per FanGraphs, and that percentage keeps dropping. So, it wouldn't be surprising if the team moved Martinez, and possibly some other players, by the deadline.

Martinez has spent the last five seasons of his career with the Red Sox and was instrumental in helping them win the 2018 World Series. This season, however, he hasn't lived up to expectations, slashing .289/.358/.461 with nine home runs and 38 RBI in 85 games.

That said, he knows being traded this summer is a real possibility, per Speier:

"I've been in this game too long. The Red Sox are a first-class organization, but the industry in total, it's a business. At the end of the day, it's a business and everyone's going to treat it that way. So I don't get involved in that. I kind of just focus on what I can control, who I'm facing on the mound.

"Like the Drake song, 'There's no friends in the industry.' It's true. It's just the business. It's a hard situation. I understand it."

But while Martinez may be moved, star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who is expected to decline his player option for 2023 to become a free agent this winter, said the Red Sox told him that he will not be traded.

In addition, third baseman Rafael Devers is not being included in trade talks despite Boston's recent skid.