How can the Mets turn their 2025 season around? John Harper suggests bringing in J.D. Martinez as a sounding board for Mets hitters:
“The Mets can use this as a way to address the problems of making the in-game adjustments that Mendoza brought up Wednesday.
Why not take a shot with the retired Martinez as some form of supplemental hitting coach? The guy was known throughout baseball as a hitting savant during his career, after all, and he seemed to have a positive effect on the Mets’ clubhouse last season, even if age seemed to catch up with him as a DH late in the year.
Ideally, the current hitting coaches, Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, would welcome the knowledge Martinez would bring. If not, well, they don’t have much room for complaint after Mendoza, unwittingly or not, essentially raised questions about whether they’re doing what’s necessary to help players make the in-game adjustments the manager deemed as lacking.
Maybe Steve Cohen could be convinced to make it worthwhile for Martinez to put his burgeoning pickleball career (he signed a deal in July to play professionally) on hold for a couple of months in pursuit of a World Series ring.”
