The Rangers are expected to add outfielder J.P. Martínez to their 40-man roster ahead of Friday’s game, per reporter Francys Romero as well as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Martínez isn’t currently on the club’s 40-man roster, which is full, meaning he will require a corresponding move to be added. The club has an off-day tomorrow.
Martínez, now 27, left Cuba in November of 2017 in the hopes of signing with a major league club. Despite being just 21 years old at that time, he already had five seasons of experience under his belt in the Cuban National Series, hitting .333/.470/.498 in the last of those five years. Once he was given clearance to sign, he was frequently connected to the Rangers, who officially announced his signing in April of 2018. The club had saved some international bonus pool space to make a run at Shohei Ohtani, but used some of it on Martínez when Ohtani signed with the Angels.
The Cuban outfielder was a prospect of note in his first few years in the affiliated ranks, though his stock dipped as his results in the minors were more solid than outstanding and he was generally older than those he was playing with. But he seems to have put himself back on the map with a strong showing in this year. In 67 Triple-A games, he’s hit 12 home runs and walked in 15.3% of his plate appearances. Even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, his .312/.427/.565 batting line amounts to a 139 wRC+, or 39% above average. He’s also stolen 33 bases in in 37 attempts at that level.
It’s unclear how the Rangers will deploy Martínez, but he’s capable of playing any of the three outfield slots. The recent injury of Josh Jung likely means Ezequiel Durán will be spending more time there and less in the outfield. That leaves the club with Adolis García, Leody Taveras, Travis Jankowski and Robbie Grossman in their outfield mix.
García is having an outstanding season but the other three have less of a firm grip on playing time. Taveras had a strong first half but has hit just .231/.252/.368 since the start of July. Jankowski is having a nice season overall but has a long track record of subpar offense and has slumped to a line of .045/.250/.091 in his last 28 plate appearances. Grossman’s hitting .228/.312/.386 for the season.
If Martínez can carry any of his strong results up to the majors with him, it should provide a boost to the Rangers as they look to fend off the Astros and hold onto their lead in the American League West.
He deserves a shot. Taveras has really been struggling, and guys like Brad Miller, Austin Hedges, and Jonathan Ornelas don’t bring much with the bat.
Wonderful! They should have done this earlier, but it’s better late than never.
I love seeing what Cuban ball players can do once they flee their country. This guy has mashed in AAA this year so hopefully he can keep it up!
Set Brad Miller free
Both Ohtani and JPM signed with their respective teams in 2018.
One of them is a generational talent that scares the pants off anyone who has to face him, the other is JP Martinez.
One of them is poised to secure the largest free agent deal in baseball history, the other is JP Martinez.
And one of them will get the chance to be a part of a postseason push for the first time, the other is Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels are so comically mismanaged. Enjoy the draft pick lmao.