FORT MYERS — Now that J.D. Martinez is property of the Red Sox, manager Alex Cora said yesterday he believes the team’s offense now has to be mentioned in the same breath as those of the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians.
I’m going to tap the brakes when it comes to the Red Sox joining that trinity.
Still, I’ll hitch a ride on Cora’s sentiment.
Sometimes one guy can make all the difference.
And this is one of those times for the Red Sox.
Cora’s absolutely right about the magnitude of Martinez’ addition. Martinez legitimizes this offense. His influence extends beyond a single spot in the lineup. His presence will enhance the skill sets of other hitters, and his thoughtful yet aggressive approach should spread as the entire organization hopes.
All this before Martinez takes a single swing in a Grapefruit League game.
That’s the power of one.
“We were good two days ago. We got better yesterday,” Cora said of Monday’s official announcement of Martinez’ five-year, $110 million deal. “Not because he’s here, but because it gives us more options. We’re deeper, roster-wise, and that’s the important thing. No nine guys are going to carry a team to win the World Series. Our roster got deeper with him. Obviously he’s a difference-maker. We talk about power, but we got a complete hitter. Now you can mix and match a little more with what we have. From one through nine, it’s a very dangerous lineup. It’s not that everybody is going to hit homers, but they can give you quality at-bats, and that’s the key.”
If the definition of a “difference-maker” is not immediately apparent to you, it will be when you hear who Cora’s talking about.
“Manny,” said Cora, and he was not referring to Manny Alexander. “Manny (Ramirez), David (Ortiz). He changed games. We talk about putting pressure from pitch one, now there’s added pressure because our lineup got longer. From top to bottom, you have to execute. Especially nowadays. You have to be almost perfect from pitch one. From Mookie (Betts) all the way down. That’s what (Martinez) brings. You saw Manny what he did. People talk about Fenway, how big it is to right field, right-center. With him, it doesn’t matter.
“If he stays with his approach, and I bet you a dollar he will stay with his approach, The Wall is going to help him out actually because he’s going to stay on those fastballs and drive them to right-center. Whenever they hang one, he’ll pull it with power.”
Now that Martinez is on the team, it’s entirely legitimate to start stacking up the lineup against the best in the league, which is what Cora did when he said, “We talk about the Indians, the Astros, all these offensive teams, New York. I think we’re up there with him.”
The Yankees boast Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Greg Bird.
The Astros have George Springer, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Yuli Gurriel and Alex Bregman.
The Indians are right there with Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis.
With Martinez joining Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, the Red Sox offense certainly becomes more than respectable. They are a threat, but a younger threat than those other three offenses, which is why I’d still rank the Red Sox a tick or two below them right now.
Who knows, maybe all the young guys plus Hanley Ramirez will all blossom in unison. But since we all know that no team ever got anywhere by virtue of its offense alone, what counts is that the Red Sox defense and starting pitching are among the best. Comparing offenses kind of misses the point.
What the Red Sox lacked last year, they have this year: health in their rotation and a deep, powerful lineup capable of handling hard-throwing pitchers.
Martinez’ arrival is a welcome gift that new hitting coach Tim Hyers appreciates better than anyone. Charged with connecting with the young hitters and implementing the club’s new, more aggressive approach at the plate, Hyers not only gained in Martinez a home run threat but also a savvy student of hitting who should lead by example and lift everyone up in the process.
“Watching him go about how he prepares and certain pitches he’s looking for, certain pitchers, is going to help everyone in the lineup,” Hyers said. “No matter where you hit, just watching a guy with experience helps us all. Even with Hanley, his experience puts all of us together. (Dustin) Pedroia. We become accountable, we talk and we get ownership in that clubhouse — the offense, that’s when we’ll have something special.
“So adding another guy with experience that’s going to come in and be like, ‘Hey,’ that brotherhood, the ‘let’s wrap our arms together, let’s get nine guys and go fight that one pitcher and put our thoughts together.’ That’s one of those things that work well for us.”
That’s what makes them a team worth mentioning along with the Yankees, Astros and Indians.
And that threat can be traced directly to the addition of one guy — J.D. Martinez.
He’s the difference- maker.
