Mets' Brandon Nimmo all in favor of club adding J.D. Davis or J.D. Martinez
Former Met J.D. Davis was released by San Francisco earlier this week, while accomplished designated hitter J.D. Martinez has not found a new team in free agency. Credit: Getty Images
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets have an opening at designated hitter and maybe third base and there are two J.D.s on the free-agent market in J.D. Martinez and J.D. Davis.
The club has been linked to both. Would either righthanded hitter help the Mets in 2024?
Brandon Nimmo says yes.
“Either of them,” Nimmo told Newsday on Wednesday, “I'd be like, 'Come on over. We'd love to have you.' "
Of Davis, Nimmo said: "I do think that he could be a fit here. But ultimately, now it’s up to him. He gets to have that decision. But I do think that he could be a fit here.”
Of Martinez, Nimmo said: "Definitely, it could be (a fit). But ultimately for him it's going to have to make sense, the money and the years. I'm not involved in any of that, but I do think it could be a really good fit for him. If he wanted to come and play for us, that'd be fine.”
Davis was Nimmo’s teammate from 2019-22 before Davis was traded by the Mets to San Francisco as part of the ill-fated Darin Ruf deal.
Davis had one of his most productive seasons as the Giants’ third baseman in 2023, hitting .248 with 18 home runs and a .738 OPS in 144 games. But San Francisco released him on Monday after signing third baseman Matt Chapman.
That move cost Davis nearly $6 million as the Giants were able to release the 30-year-old, and because of a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement, pay him a $1.1 million termination fee rather than the $6.9 million salary he won in arbitration.
“I feel really bad for him,” Nimmo said. “And I hope he’s able to get into a really good situation for himself. But such an awkward situation that I didn’t even know is possible. It’s a good learning lesson for all of us. But also I just hope that he ends up in a really good situation. He played great last year. I have full confidence that he’s going to end up with many suitors and he’ll be able to choose where he wants to go.”
The Mets have prospects Brett Baty and Mark Vientos battling for the third base job, with Vientos also pegged to get at-bats as the DH. Davis is not an accomplished defensive third baseman, but neither are the other two, at least at this point in their careers.
Baty, who is hitting .241 with one home run in spring training, was scratched from Wednesday night's lineup vs. the Astros with what the Mets called "minor back tightness." Vientos, who was in the original lineup at first, shifted to third. Vientos (.206) went 1-for-3 with his third home run, a solo moonshot to left-center in the Mets' 6-5 victory.
The other big bopper still out there is Martinez, 36, who hit .271 with 33 home runs, 103 RBIs and an .893 OPS for the Dodgers in 2023. Martinez has been an All-Star each of the last three seasons and six times overall.
“He’s going to be an impactful player wherever he goes," Francisco Lindor said of Martinez. "He had a good year last year and we all know he can hit. He’s been one of the better hitters in the game for a while. So I think he’s got what it takes.”
Of adding either J.D., Lindor said: “They’re good players. If we add more offense, great. But I think I like what we have. We have good players. It would never hurt to add more offense or more pitching or more defense.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
