The Legal Details Of J.D. Martinez Pact Re-Negotiation

The enigmatic "negotiations" that finally resulted in the signing of J.D. Martinez stemmed from the Red Sox fearing a recurrence of the right-foot Lisfranc strain that sidelined the player last season for six weeks. Reportedly, it was the potential of that recurrence in years three, four and five that got John Henry & Company spooked. So, both sides agreed to mutual options in the final two years as follows:

YEAR FOUR MUTUAL OPTION TRIGGERED IF:

A. Martinez suffers a Lisfranc injury that can be clearly linked to his earlier injury—determined by a three-doctor panel;
B. He spends 60 days on the DL in year 3 because of the old injury—or 10 DL days in year 3 plus 120 days total in years 2 and 3;

YEAR FIVE MUTUAL OPTION TRIGGERED IF:

A. Martinez suffers a Lisfranc injury that can be clearly linked to his earlier injury—determined by a three-doctor panel;
B. He spends 60 days on the DL in year 4 because of the old injury—or 10 DL days in year 4 plus 120 days total in years 3 and 4;

Confused enough? Arrrggh—lawyers (and agents who are lawyers)!