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J.D. Martinez makes a crucial decision for 2025 after a disappointing end to the Mets run
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J.D. Martinez makes a crucial decision for 2025 after a disappointing end to the Mets run

LOS ANGELES – In an emotional post-game clubhouse full of free agents with decisions to make, JD Martinez at least made his first.

The 37-year-old future free agent wants to continue playing baseball.

However, whether he will continue playing baseball has yet to be determined.

JD Martinez was not in the starting lineup on Sunday. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn images

“If it happens, it happens. If not, then go from there,” Martinez said of his presence on the 2025 roster, which will depend on teams’ interest in the designated hitter who is invaluable in a clubhouse and has a history of hitting, but who stopped this. season.

Martinez spoke in the aftermath of the Mets’ 10-5 loss in NLCS Game 6 at Dodger Stadium, which sent the Mets home.

In Martinez’s case, that means he will return to Miami and see his newborn daughter, whom he hasn’t held since she was born. Martinez was there for the birth in early September and then rejoined the team during the final sprint of the season, when every game and every win was needed.

He will go home to his family, be a father for a while and then start training, believing “100 percent” he would play if the offer is right for next season.

“It felt great this year,” Martinez said. “I felt like I was a bit unlucky, but I think my expected grades were good.”

The 14-year pro is a six-time All-Star and a hitting savant who was an assassin, a slugger signed to a one-year contract with the Mets.

JD Martinez faded as the year went by. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

He was solid during the first half, posting an .806 OPS with 10 home runs in 66 games, but he struggled in the final months of the season and the postseason, as he lost time to Jesse Winker.

A reunion with the Mets doesn’t seem likely, but Martinez is open to it.

“These guys are great. I had a great time here,” said Martinez, who finished with a .725 OPS. “How could you not want to come back after the year we had?”


Follow The Post’s coverage of the Mets’ playoff run:


Martinez and Jesse Winker are both free agents-to-be. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Martinez spoke optimistically about the team’s future. He will become one of several Mets free agents, including Pete Alonso, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Jose Iglesias.

Martinez saw the team start 0-5, joined the club late and saw it fall to 11 games under .500 in early June, and was part of the uprising that helped the Mets claw their way to Game 6 of the NLCS.

He said the club has a “good core” and that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets are also among the final teams next year. But the longtime Major Leaguer believes the 2024 Mets were special.

“I’ve been on a lot of teams and been to the playoffs a bunch of times,” Martinez said. “This is one I will always remember, just because of the group I did it with.”