Boston Adds a Slugger

After months of haggling, the Red Sox finally land J.D. Martinez, their number-one free agent target. Recalling the heyday of the Boston-Bronx rivalry of the late '90s, early and mid '00s, the Sox finally make the move that keeps pace with the Yankees trade for Giancarlo Stanton.
Fresh of a 45-home run season split between Detroit and Arizona where he batted a combined .303, the Miami native can aim for the Green Monster the next five seasons -- well, definitely two years before JD can opt out.
The $110 million deal appears to show compromise between the Red Sox and uber-agent Scott Boras, who seemed determined to get seven years and $200 million for the 30-year old slugger. In the end, Boston gets another big bat -- and will now try to move incumbent DH Hanley Ramirez to clear salary space and give Martinez an everyday job. And the Boston-Bronx battles give everyday indication of being 19 slugfests as 2018 plays out.

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