Before Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, I asked J.D. Martinez, the New York Mets designated hitter, if he planned to sign another contract with his current team. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “I am a hitter for fire. Whoever wants to pay me, that’s where I’ll go.” With MLB’s regular season just a few weeks away, no one has wanted to pay him, and thus, J.D. Martinez has nowhere to go.

The story of Martinez’s circuitous route to All-Stardom has been told time and again. No Division I program recruited him out of high school in Florida. He played college ball at Nova Southeastern University before being drafted by the Houston Astros in 2009 in the 20^th round, #611 overall. After three years, 24 total home runs, and an 88 OPS+, the Astros released him in 2014.

He signed with the Detroit Tigers that year for $500,000. The next season he got $3 million. Martinez worked with a hitting coach (whose name he initially wanted to keep private, but was eventually revealed to be Robert Van Scoyoc) in Los Angeles to fix his swing. It worked. In his first two years in the Motor City, he slashed .296/.350/.543 with 61 home runs, 178 RBI, and a 145 OPS+, resulting in a new two-year deal worth a total of $18.5 million.

He was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks right before the trade deadline in 2017. In 62 games in the desert, all Martinez did was slash .302/.366/.741, for a 1.107 OPS, hit 29 home runs, and record a 170 OPS+. Things were looking good as he entered free agency for the first time going into his age-30 season.

As many Scott Boras clients are wont to do, Martinez stayed on the market throughout the winter. He signed a 5-year, $110 million deal (with multiple opt-outs) with the Boston Red Sox just as pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. He never opted-out. Over those five years, he slashed .292/.363/.526 and hit 130 homers as Boston’s everyday designated hitter.

But when he hit the free agent market again in 2023, he found few buyers. With the days of the designated designated hitter starting to wane, teams want player flexibility, athletes who can play multiple positions and who give managers more tools in their proverbial toolbox.

Martinez ultimately landed with the Dodgers for one year and $10 million. And it was more of the same for this “professional hitter.” In 113 games, he smacked 33 home runs and finished the year with a 136 OPS+. And then back on the market he went.

Again, Martinez waited. Less than a week before Opening Day, the New York Mets gave him a another 1-year contract, this one worth $12 million, but with $7.5 million of that deferred until 2034-2038. Martinez helped lead the Mets to the NLCS where they were felled by his former club. Statistically, Martinez had one of the worst years of his career, with lows not seen since his early days in Houston. When the season ended with the NLCS loss under the Dodger Stadium lights, Martinez was once-again a man without a team.

Martinez will be 38 in August. Were his numbers last year an indication that the end is near? Maybe. But there is still a lot he can bring to a club – and not just on the field. In Boston, the team made Mookie Betts “his project.” He also changed the team’s hitting program, setting up his iPad for batting practice for all the players, not just himself. His leaderships abilities have never been in question. Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso has called Martinez a “hitting savant.”

The Yankees, with Giancarlo Stanton down with injuries to both of his elbows and no timetable for a return, are a possibility. But once Stanton returns, the team would truly have no place for someone who has played six games in the field since the end of the 2021 season.

The Minnesota Twins could use his slug and his presence, but they need to keep the designated hitter position available for Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and/or Carlos Correa for the moment when any of them is not healthy enough to play defense.

The Orioles might be a good fit for a player who knows the division and who can mentor their young players. And they certainly can afford him.

The Reds have too many infielders, so maybe they could use a right-handed slugger in the middle of their lineup as they try to compete in the should-be-winnable NL Central.

The Rays are an option, allowing Martinez to play close to his home in Ft. Lauderdale and be a sounding board for their (always) young lineup.

There could be a reunion in Detroit, as they were in the market for a right-handed bat, and by all accounts just missed out on Alex Bregman.

With Yordan Alvarez the second best designated hitter in baseball holding down that spot in Houston, there is no chance for a reunion there. However, there could be some symmetry if the Diamondbacks signed Martinez to nearly bookend his career. They lost him to free agency once, but he could come back, hit like he tends to, and counsel the likes of Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, Blaze Alexander, Jordan Lawlar, and Alek Thomas. Could J.D. Martinez, in the lineup and in the batting cage, make Ketel Marte even better?

In 2018, after signing with the Red Sox and becoming an All-Star but before helping to lead the team to another World Series title, Martinez was asked about his slow free agency and whether his current season was some sort of vindication. His response then could have just as easily been uttered today: “My whole life, I’ve felt like I’ve always had to prove myself. It’s never been easy, as easy as others who are in my position have had it. So I’ve always felt that drive...It’s my story. It’s me.”

After 14 big league seasons, it is possible that Martinez no longer has that drive. After earning more than $150 million, he may be content to call it a career – there would be no shame in that. But, if he still wants to lace them up, pull on a pair of batting gloves, and set up his iPad on the side of the cage, some team should offer him a few million bucks to make their team better – both on the field and in the clubhouse.