MLB Rumors: Expect J.D. Martinez to cash in after this season

J.D. Martinez sees the future, and it’s not so much with the Boston Red Sox as it is with a pile of cash. 

Baseball is coming back in 2020, but things are going to look a lot different beyond just this season.

Part of the new rules for the amended 60-game MLB season that will happen is the implementation of a universal designated hitter. It’s long been rumored that the DH would make it’s way to the traditionalist National Leauge, which since it’s conception has featured pitchers as hitters in the lineup rather than replacing them with a hitter in their place.

That will be changing in 2020 and it’s going to open the door for it to remain a fixture moving forward. Many believe that implementing a DH in the National League for this shortened season will mean it gets included as part of the upcoming CBA that MLB and MLBPA will be hammering out in the offseason.

Why will J.D. Martinez and other sluggers opt-out after 2020 season?

Part of why it’s easy to see that happening is that it opens a whole new portal for players and teams when it comes to sluggers extending their careers and new teams getting to reap the benefit. J.D. Martinez could be a trailblazer in that regard, as it’s expected that he’ll opt out of his deal with the Boston Red Sox after 2020 since more teams will be able to pursue him as a designated hitter.

For years, players who may be past their prime defensively but still had prowess at the plate were forced to either remain in the National League as pinch hitters or move to the American League and become a DH.

Cutting out half of the league meant those trying to become a DH and also compete for a World Series created a bottleneck of the top teams in the American League. Widening that target to include contending National League teams does more than just change potential strategy, it opens the flood gates for sluggers in ways we’ve never seen in baseball before.