It’s interesting to map track some hitters in the game. Bats for hire. Every off season there are more than a few capable hitters available to help you score runs. Sometimes it’s the same guys.
“All that guy can do is hit”
J.D. Martinez Planning To Play In 2025 https://t.co/zxY9ZYWbYB pic.twitter.com/uluSZEAZ2f
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) January 31, 2025
Wherever J.D. Martinez ends up it’ll be his 7th stop, unless of course he goes back to somewhere he’s been before. That would include Houston, Detroit where he broke out, The Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Dodgers and last season in Queens with the Mets.
Martinez has been better than league average to elite every single year since 2014 except for the pandemic season. He did slump in September (.108 with no home runs and four RBI) and didn’t do much in the playoffs. He’s thirty-seven.
Joc Pederson to Arlington
Joc Pederson has found a new home. The Texas Rangers will be his sixth team in six seasons. After seven years in a Dodger uniform he’s made stops in Chicago (Cubs) and Atlanta in 2021. San Francisco, Arizona and now Texas.
Dude can hit and he’s coming off his best season at age thirty-two (.908 OPS). He’s got two world series rings. one each from The Dodgers and Braves.
Josh Bell back to Washington
Josh Bell is heading back to the Nationals and he was very good there for two seasons (2021 & 2022) after five above average years in Pittsburgh. He has knocked around since. San Diego, Cleveland, and last year both Miami and Arizona.
He finally got it together after the Diamondbacks (.796 OPS) picked him up from the Marlins (.699 OPS) to fill in for the injured Christian Walker. He hit nineteen home runs between the two stops. He’s thirty-one
Where oh where is Tommy Pham?
Tommy Pham is also looking for a new home. With Kevin Pillar, the patron saints of this column. The outfielder tacked on two more cities in three stops in 2024 which included a trip back to his first big league team in St Louis.
Since 1918 he’s played for nine teams including the Cardinals twice. He has been everywhere, man. St Louis, Tampa, San Diego, Cincinnati, Boston, New York (Mets), Arizona, Chicago (White Sox), Cardinals again and Kansas City.
Pillar who was going to retire but has decided to return for one more. Next up would also be franchise number ten for him. It was White Sox and Angels for him in 2024, that’s a lot of losses,
And that’s not all
We see you Donovan Solano, Amed Rosario and Gio Urshela. Solano to the Mariners, Urshela the Athletics and Rosario is looking for at bats in Washington.
And for the record Juan Soto who is only twenty-five will head to his fourth team in four years. Of course after Washington and San Diego, he’ll only be adding a new team, not a new city. You would think he’s the only guy in this group that could think of buying a home.
