J.D. Martinez Expects 'To Do a Lot of Damage' After Signing Red Sox Contract

J.D. Martinez, fresh off signing a five-year, $110 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, is ready to do damage in the middle of the Boston lineup.

Per John Tomase of WEEI.com, Martinez on Monday said:

"I'm expecting hopefully to do a lot of damage. That's the game plan coming in, but as far as the Red Sox lineup goes, it's a strong lineup, it's a good lineup. I've been looking at them, checking them out. Obviously playing against them in Detroit, they're guys with a lot of speed, guys who get on base, guys who really move around the bags and produce runs very quickly, and I'm happy to be a part of that now."

Martinez will bring major pop to a lineup that was often devoid of power in 2017. The 30-year-old hit .303 with 45 homers, 104 RBI and 85 runs with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks last year, his fourth straight season with 22 or more dingers.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, finished last in the American League with just 168 homers and ranked 14th of the 15 teams with a .407 slugging percentage.

New manager Alex Cora said he was excited to have Martinez in the fray.

"Not only can he hit homers, but he has the ability to hit for average, too," Cora told Tomase. "The way he barrels the ball ... he's not only a home run hitter, he's a complete hitter. He's a guy you can put in the middle of the lineup."

The Red Sox were considered the favorites to land Martinez for most of the offseason, though negotiations between the sides dragged on and continued even after he arrived at the team's spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday, sparking speculation that perhaps a deal wouldn't get done.

Given Martinez's injury history—he missed 40 games in 2016 with a fractured right elbow and the first 33 games of last season with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot—the delay wasn't a huge red flag, though the longer he went without signing, the more it seemed there could be an issue.

Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston detailed some protections for the Red Sox in Martinez's contract:

Martinez's agent, Scott Boras, told Tomase:

"These negotiations are more of a cooperative venture as you're dealing with medical, legal. The goal is common, very mutual. We all wanted to execute an agreement that we all thought was in the best interests of both J.D. and the Red Sox. [President of baseball operations] Dave [Dombrowski] and I have known one another a long time. We've gotten to know each other a lot better over the last five days, and that says a lot. The idea of this really is clarity."