JD Martinez won’t disclose if he got vaccinated as Red Sox fight to reach threshold

Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez refuses to say whether or not he got the COVID-19 vaccine.

In the latest string of COVID-19 related news, Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez was recently asked about his vaccine status but refused to give a clear yes or no answer, according to Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe.

Martinez’s comments echo those of Red Sox manager Alex Cora a month ago, when some Red Sox players and staff got their first injections at Fenway Park.

Cora said at the time, “We actually had a conversation a few days ago. Like I said, first thing’s first, it’s a personal decision. Today there are some guys that are going to get vaccinated. I can’t tell you how many, but there’s a lot of guys. There’s a group of guys that are getting vaccinated.”

Given photos that the Red Sox shared of players getting their shots, Christian Vazquez, Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Nathan Eovaldi are within the “group of guys” who have been vaccinated.

Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez won’t disclose his vaccination status

Still, the Red Sox have not yet reached the 85 percent threshold, which would ease many of the strict COVID-19 restrictions in place. The league has announced that four teams have already reached the threshold, including the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, and five other teams are set to also reach that goal in the coming weeks.

After a forgettable 2020 season, Martinez has become one of the more dependable hitters for Boston this season. On Tuesday against Oakland, he hit a sacrifice fly to right field to allow Alex Verdugo to score in the bottom of the first, and on Monday against Baltimore, he went 2-for-4 with one run scored. Even though Boston lost both those games, his numbers in May alone (one homer and seven RBI in ten contests) suggest he’ll be a key part of Boston’s league success. If only he would be more forthcoming about his vaccination…