Tampa Bay Rays 2020 Player Profile: Jose Martinez

Tampa Bay Rays newly acquired slugger, Jose Martinez player profile. Here’s a rundown of his stats and what to expect in 2020.

Jose Martinez
Position: OF/1B/DH
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6-6
Weight: 215lb
Birthdate: 07/25/1988
Birthplace: La Guaira, Venezuela
Acquired via trade 01/08/2019 (Tampa Bay Rays gave up Matthew Liberatore in exchange for Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena from the St. Louis Cardinals)
2019 Salary: $2.125 million
Free Agent: 2023

2019 Stats
WAR: -0.3
AVG: .283
OBP: .350
SLG: .449
OPS: .799
Games: 128
AB:  334
R: 45
2B: 13
3B: 2
HR: 10
RBI: 42
BB: 35
SB: 3
CS: 0
SO: 82
OPS+: 98

Splits
VS LHP: .329/.397/.600
VS RHP .254/.325/.360

Fun Facts

• Jose Martinez has a career OPS+ of 119 and a .458 slugging percentage.
• Martinez has a career on-base percentage of .363 with a .298 batting average.
• For his career, Martinez has destroyed left-handed pitching to the tune of a .331/.405/.570 slash line.
• Jose Martinez won Rookie of the Month in September of 2017.
• He was 7th in NL in batting average in 2018 at.305.
• He has logged over 900 major league innings at first base, right field, and left field.
• In his four seasons in the Bigs, he has -28 defensive runs saved.
• Martinez has a .538 batting average through seven career post-season games.

2020 Steamer Projections
.270/.338/.426
10 HR
40 Runs
41 RBI
2 SB

Jose Martinez fills a big hole for the Rays in 2020. They were openly in search of a right-handed bat as they leaned very lefty-heavy.

The addition of Martinez may momentarily push Nate Lowe out of the way for now at first, but Martinez brings a veteran presence and another piece that knows how to get on base.

Martinez not only fits the need for a well-rounded slugger from the right side but as noted in the fun facts above, he absolutely destroys left-handed pitching. He eats it for breakfast..and second breakfast.

Martinez may not rate as a great defender but he certainly provides versatility for the Rays, having logged over 900 innings at three different positions.

*Stats for this profile were harvested from ESPN.com and Fangraphs.com