JD Martinez is a huge Tom Brady fan

While a deal might not be close, the Boston Red Sox continue to negotiate a potential contract with free-agent right fielder J.D.

In an interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Price once again spoke about how hard it is to play for the Red Sox. Any reasonable pre-Hot Stove expectation of what Martinez would fetch on the market would’ve comfortably exceeded five years and $110 million.

Martinez, a Miami native, was likely seeking something larger than that. However, interest in Martinez was far more tepid than anyone expected.

“They’re fielding a football team out there is kind of what I was thinking”, Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland said. That put Boston in the driver’s seat.

As soon as Giancarlo Stanton touched down with their main rivals, the Boston Red Sox were eager to take on NY – the Yankees, or maybe even the Jets and Giants. There’s a lot of guesswork in all of that, but it sure beats trying to get a media savvy player like Harper to admit, after going 1-for-4 against the Phillies, where he plans to spend the next seven to ten years of his professional life. Martinez will be paid $25 million in 2018 and ’19 before the first opt out, $22 million in 2020 before the second opt out, and $19 million in the last two years if he remains with the club.

Released by the Houston Astros not four years ago, when he was 26 and had hit 24 home runs in almost 900 big-league at-bats, Martinez reoriented his career over four seasons in Detroit and Arizona. The Red Sox hit only 168 home runs last season, the fewest in the AL and 73 fewer than the Yankees, who led the majors.

In addition to his solid fielding, Martinez should bring some of his power numbers to Boston.

Martinez believes a new, relaxed attitude will help the Sox in the coming season.

The Red Sox owned baseball’s best offence in 2016, but the loss of Ortiz was evident in 2017.

But picking up Martinez should do a lot for unsafe Boston team that features young stars like Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers.

NOTES: Former Red Sox players Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Mike Lowell were all working with players. He’s averaged 32 home runs a year since 2014, with an average 149+ OPS and a slash line of.300/.362/.574 with a.936 OPS in that span. He said early in the offseason that he’d be ready to play first base in 2018 if needed.

But right before Spring Training, it seems that Martinez settled for less money than many thought he’d get when the offseason started.

D’backs reach deal with Dyson • The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a two-year, $7.5 million deal with outfielder Jarrod Dyson.