Boston Red Sox: 4 players attacking 2021 MLB season with vengeance

Boston Red Sox  DH J.D. Martinez looks to recapture his swing

There is no player on the current Boston Red Sox roster who wants to atone for a lackluster 2020 performance more than J.D. Martinez.

After the team traded away Mookie Betts, it was really on Martinez to carry the offense and he did not do it.

While it is hard to tell what Martinez would’ve eventually did through a regular 162 game season, hitting just 7 homers and knocking in 27 RBI through a shortened 60-game season was nowhere close to the man who averaged over 35 homers and 120 RBI in his first two seasons with the Red Sox.

So, what happened to the power hitter in 2020?

The focus certainly seemed to be lacking as was the entire team.  But Martinez admits his swing changed due to an ankle injury he suffered in the 2018 World Series.

While it didn’t seem to greatly impact him in 2019, it really affected his production at the plate in 2020, which he detailed further during an appearance on NESN’s “Sox at Sundown” with Tom Caron and Jim Rice.

"“I feel like, in 2018 when I rolled my ankle in the World Series, I was really scared to rotate my hip with my ankle because it hurt,” Martinez said during the broadcast, via NESN.  “The body is the ultimate compensator.  I slowly started to come out of my hips and started jumping at the ball without noticing why.  All these triggers I used to do didn’t work.  I’m sitting here wondering what the heck’s going on and then I come to find out, well, let’s work on my ankle and that would get better and then we tried to grind it out.”"

Martinez went on to target some shoulder problems as another part of struggles in 2020.  In a contract year, it would be beneficial to the Red Sox DH to get it figured out and return to the premier hitter he was in the previous two seasons.

If he does, the offense will be that much better and the Red Sox as a whole could be a lot better than predicted, especially if Eduardo Rodriguez, Rafael Devers, Chris Sale and J.D. Martinez attack the 2021 MLB season with the dedication and promise they are entering it with.