FORT MYERS, Fla. — J.D. Martinez does not have an injury that would keep him from playing for the Red Sox this season or beyond, two major league sources said on Saturday.
The delay in his joining the team is related to the team taking extra measures with the contract to ensure they are protected financially in the event of injury. Every indication is that Martinez will join the Sox soon.
Martinez agreed to terms with the Red Sox last Monday and arrived at JetBlue Park for a physical on Wednesday morning. But he has not yet been cleared to play.
Martinez has missed 85 games in all the last two seasons. He was on the disabled list from March 30 to May 12 last season with a sprained Lisfranc ligament in his right foot. He returned to hit .303 with 45 home runs.
Given the medical issues with free agents Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, and Pablo Sandoval in recent years, the Red Sox are exercising a greater degree of caution with Martinez.
Martinez’s deal was reported to include opt-out clauses after the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Everywhere a sign
The Sox will devote time on Sunday for the pitchers and catchers to work on changing their signs without making a visit to the mound.
With the new Major League Baseball rule allowing six mound visits per game without a pitching change, catchers will no longer have free rein to jog out to the pitcher to change the signs when a runner on second base may be spying on them.
The Sox will divide into three teams of pitchers and catchers to brainstorm ideas. The winners will get dinner courtesy of Christian Vazquez.
Why Vazquez? His phone rang when Cora addressed the team before the first full-squad workout.
The infielders already have been told to stay away from the mound. Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia were among those who often called time for pep talks if a pitcher lost the strike zone.
As to the new rule, Cora said the Sox would be seeking clarification from MLB on some situations. He isn’t sure if some routine communication will be considered a visit.
“We’re working on it,’’ Cora said. “It’s complicated.’’
Busy time
The Sox have some travel challenges coming up. Five of the next nine games are on the road and there’s a doubleheader on Tuesday. Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, a special assistant in baseball operations, has been helping Cora with putting together the rosters for each game so that every player gets the right amount of work . . . A fan was ejected in the eighth inning of Friday’s game after yelling at Cora from a seat close to the dugout. The man was using obscenities. Charming . . . The Red Sox signed 33-year-old lefthanded reliever Tommy Layne to a minor league contract that did not include an invitation to spring training. He had a 3.30 earned run average with the Sox from 2014-16 and has since been with the Yankees and Dodgers organizations. Layne has been working out at the MLB Players Association camp for free agents in Bradenton.
