Looking back on J.D. Martinez's 2024 season since the Angels offered him a contract

Mike Trout has been more publicly vocal than ever the past couple of years when it comes to pushing the Angels to add big league players. Trout has a solid working relationship with Arte Moreno and Perry Minasian. They are all constantly communicating with regards to assembling a winning roster.

Trout advocated for adding J.D. Martinez, and Moreno and Minasian obliged. "Moreno said the Angels offered Martinez a one-year deal worth 'somewhere around $12 million, nothing deferred.' Martinez signed a deal with the Mets that paid him $12 million, but he received only $4.5 million in 2024, and the rest was deferred, some until 2038."

So, how did Martinez fare with the Mets? Well, not that great.

Value wise, Martinez was unexceptional for New York. FanGraphs has a stat that converts a player's wins above replacement to a dollar figure, and Martinez's value came out to $4.9 million. Basically, his return on investment for the Mets and Angels' $12 million offer was not worth it on the field. His WAR ranked 13th on the Mets, trailing players like Starling Marte, Luisangel Acuña, Luis Torrens, and old friend Jose Iglesias.

It was not all bad for Martinez. The slugger's barrel percentage was in the 94th percentile, his xWOBA was in the 88th percentile, xSLG was in the 87th percentile, and his average exit velocity was in the 78th percentile. Martinez is a fantastic off-field leader, and it's always great to have a consummate professional in the clubhouse. He had the fourth most plate appearances on the Mets this season, but he is simply past his prime at this point. His bWAR was the fifth lowest mark of his 14 year career. His .235 batting average was the second lowest.

Would things have gone better for Martinez if he signed with the Angels? Hard to say, but it stands to reason that he would have provided around the same value. So as to say, it would not have been a great contract for the Angels to dole out.

The Angels looking to overpay a player past his prime reflects poorly on Trout and Minasian's judgment. If they pushed so hard for a player on the last legs of his career, are the Angels going to see more of the same this offseason? Moreno vowed to increase spending this year, and fans already know that they need to overpay players to come play for the team. The best route is to trade for talent to avoid another pitfall of a contract, as Martinez would have been. Free agency just might not be the Angels' strong suit.