The Mets announce today they have brought in former MLB OF and DH, JD Martinez to join their front office as a special advisor to David Stearns. A bit unusual for the Mets, given their current stance on not bringing back former players but this time around it’s not to play but to provide insight in the front office and help develop the stars on the field.

JD Martinez joins Carlos Beltran and David Wright as former Mets to transition their career into the front office taking the role as special advisor to the general manager. But what exactly is a ‘special advisor’ and how does this make the Mets a better team than they were without JD Martinez.

A special advisor is a position filled by former big leaguers to offer advice for internal operations for their team’s organization. It is a fluid role used to guide operations, mentor players and asssit with coaching or scouting.

It is a position that isn’t limited to just one role but overseeing everything. So much of baseball operations is men who never really made it in the big leagues or professional baseball in general so it is always good to get a secondary opinion on the sport and how to approach certain players who might be struggling.

Given that JD Martinez had a very successful major league career spread across 14 seasons with the Astros, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Dodgers and Mets, it makes a lot of sense the Mets trusted him to give him such a versatile role in their organization development.

For his career, JD Martinez is a 6 time all star, 3 time silver slugger, and 2018 World Champion with the Red Sox. Within that, Martinez has collected 1741 hits, 1071 RBIS, 331 homeruns, a career batting average of .283 and a career OPS+ 31% better than league average at 131 OPS+.

These metrics reflect why JD Martinez is seen as one of the most prolific power hitters in the game. But it’s ironic given his age in 2024 that the Mets trusted him so much to grant him a role in the front office given his mediocre performance that did not provide much value for the team on the field.

In 2024, JD Martinez played in 120 games, he had 102 hits, 46 runs, 16 home runs, 69 RBIs, a batting average of .235 and a triple slash line of .320/.406/.725 for an OPS+ of 105.

But it isn’t what JD provided with his bat, but what he did for the team off the field. Sometimes a player’s impact on a team goes beyond what the metrics may imply.

A month after JD Martinez, made his Mets debut on April 26th, 2024, the Mets went on to win 11 out of 15 games during a hot stretch in May to early June.

With JD as the primary DH, he provided incredible guidance to the staff and eventually helped turn the team around after an torrid start which ended with a six game National League Championship matchup against the Dodgers.

With a new look, the Mets hope to return to the playoffs for the first time since their magical 2024 season, while relying on an old friend to help steer the ship and provide mentorship along the way.