The departure of Justin Turner to the Crimson Sox was laborious for Dodgers gamers and followers to swallow. JT has been a pacesetter on this crew for practically a decade. What makes it just a little simpler, although, is who the crew primarily changed him with, as JD Martinez was signed to play DH for Los Angeles.
Martinez’s profession has truly mirrored Turner’s in plenty of methods, even earlier than they swapped groups this offseason. Each have been light-hitting fringe big-leaguers who revived their careers with swing modifications earlier than the 2014 season, and each have been among the many sport’s greatest hitters ever since. Martinez has been a barely higher hitter within the final 9 seasons, posting a 141 OPS+ in comparison with 133 for Turner. Alternatively, Turner supplied plenty of worth at third base, whereas Martinez’s defensive worth was non-existent and he’s been principally a DH.
Now, Martinez involves L.A. to fill JT’s spot within the lineup and, maybe, within the clubhouse. Los Angeles utilityman Chris Taylor, who had a swing-change renaissance himself a number of years after Turner and Martinez, instructed Dodgers Nation he’s excited for Martinez’s presence within the lineup and the locker room.
“He’s simply an unbelievable hitter. I do know it might probably solely assist him that he’s getting linked up, him and [Robert Van Scoyoc] are lastly getting linked up,” Taylor stated. “So, I do know Rob’s excited to have J.D. within the clubhouse, and I’m fairly certain J.D. has wished to be right here for fairly some time.
“And I believe, not solely is he going to carry an unbelievable bat within the coronary heart of our order, however as I stated earlier, I believe he’s a man, all the things I’ve heard from a number of the Crimson Sox gamers is, he’s a man everybody seemed as much as and he’s a man that spoke up in hitter’s conferences and he’s only a scholar of the sport. And he’s a real skilled. And all the things I’ve heard is he places in additional work within the batting cage than some other participant within the sport.
“So, having a man like that with that work ethic and with the ability to be round him and choose his mind and simply be taught from him, I believe will profit everybody on our crew.”
Earlier than changing into L.A.’s hitting coach, Van Scoyoc was the non-public coach who helped each Taylor and Martinez turn out to be excellent hitters. Martinez had a little bit of a down 12 months in 2022 — nonetheless an OPS+ of 117, however a down 12 months by his requirements — and hopefully being reunited along with his hitting coach will assist him bounce again to his earlier ranges.
Martinez isn’t a alternative for Turner, neither is he anticipated to be. However he ought to have the ability to fill a number of the gaps left by Turner’s departure, and possibly even exceed JT’s efficiency on the sphere.
