Red Sox spring training notes: A J.D. Martinez update and Marco Hernandez heads back to Boston

J.D. Martinez still has not signed

It’s been since Monday that the Red Sox reportedly agreed to terms with J.D. Martinez and transformed their lineup, but we still are waiting for official word that the deal is done. The slugger was seen arriving in Fort Myers on Wednesday, presumably to start his physical. Well, it is not Saturday morning and we are still waiting for things to be completed. This, understandably, is causing some worry among Red Sox fans, particularly because it’s not as if Martinez has been a model of health through his career (though I’d argue his injury history is overstated, but tomato tomahto). Fortunately, there haven’t been any reports that things have gone awry at this point. Right now, the assumption has to be that they are simply waiting for their own doctors to either get down to Florida, or perhaps for Martinez to get up to Boston to see doctors there, or some other logistical issue that I’m not smart enough to think of. I don’t think there’s much of anything to worry about at this point, though obviously that becomes less true every day and I wouldn’t blame anyone for getting panicked about this, because the Martinez saga just won’t end.

Marco Hernandez heads back to Boston for another shoulder procedure

Hernandez just cannot catch a break right now. Fortunately, it’s not a major surgery or anything like that, but the second baseman was still feeling discomfort in the shoulder on which he underwent surgery last May. Now, he’ll be heading up to Boston to have pins removed from the shoulder. This doesn’t seem like something that should keep him out for too long, but I’m certainly not a doctor. According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, he’s not going to play again this spring. The Eduardo Nuñez signing likely pushed him down to Pawtucket anyway, but the Red Sox could use all the depth they could have and one could argue that Hernandez is their best depth piece when he’s fully healthy. Hopefully we see that version of the 25-year-old in 2018.