The J.D. Martinez era in Boston could be coming to an end.
The Boston Red Sox aren’t planning to extend the one-year, $19.65-million qualifying offer to the veteran designated hitter, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
However, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said the club hasn’t made any final decisions on qualifying offers, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive.
Martinez, who was named an All-Star in four out of his five seasons with the Red Sox, is eligible to test free agency when the World Series concludes.
The 35-year-old went deep 16 times with a .790 OPS over 139 games during a down year in 2022. He collected 130 homers and slashed .292/.363/.526 across 637 regular-season contests with Boston.
Martinez played an instrumental role in helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series. He hit three round-trippers with 13 RBIs and a .923 OPS across 14 games during the championship run.
