San Francisco Giants’ Case For J.D. Martinez

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Sep 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez (28) catches a fly ball hit by Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) in the fifth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

J.D. Martinez’ bat may not be enough to overcome his problems defensively as the San Francisco Giants evaluate his value for a trade. After leading right fielders with a .993 fielding percentage in 2015, he experienced a huge drop off to .971 this season.

His six errors were fourth most in the American League, and all six were fielding errors. This contributed to a disappointing -17.2 UZR, and an even more uninspiring -22 DRS, according to fangraphs.

Those numbers surely resound with Giants’ brass behind closed doors, and on paper divert from their philosophy. However, as mentioned earlier, his 2015 AL leading .993 fielding percentage may help silence some echoes of his defensive struggles if the Giants believe that’s the type of defender he can be again.

A real problem noticed among San Francisco Giants’ fans and reporters was the weak arm strength coming from left field and center field options. Fangraphs rated the arm strength of Angel Pagan 29/100, and Denard Span received a scouting score of 35/100.

Very underwhelming results for a philosophy built around defense, when offenses know they can push their luck on the bases.

Compare that to Martinez’ scouting score of 67/100, and it’s a significant upgrade for an outfield that poses little threat to base runners. Yoenis Cespedes is regarded as having one of the best outfield arms in the game, and his score for comparison’s sake is 88/100.

Strong outfield arms stop runners from advancing first to third on singles, may prevent runners tagging home from third, and certainly help prevent runners scoring from second base on singles.

His fielding is a huge concern and may persuade the San Francisco Giants to pursue another trade or test free agency. There are a number of serviceable options on the free agent market, but J.D. Martinez is the best trade the Giants could make. The only question now would be his price.