The Baltimore Orioles are about to start the offseason after being swept in the Wild Card by the Kansas City Royals, failing to win a game in the postseason after losing it for the second years in a row and now without a play-off win in more than a decade. .

As the team prepares to retool this winter and try to put itself in a better position for 2025, there are some big decisions to be made, both with which players will hit free agency and who they are going to spend money. to bring in from outside the organization. When it comes to looking for talent, there is at least one player the Birds should avoid “at all costs.”

In a recent article, FanSided’s Christopher Kline wrote that Baltimore shouldn’t go anywhere near Mets DH and grizzled veteran JD Martinez due to age and injury issues, as well as the fact that his production dropped off quickly in New York this season after he was brought in. on a 1-year contract.

“It’s not that Martinez has been a total bust — .235/.320/.406 with 16 home runs in 434 ABs — but it turns out the age factor was quite significant,” Kline wrote. “Martinez has been dealing with injuries and the pop he once specialized in is no longer there. He hasn’t seen an unnatural increase in Ks or a decrease in walks; he just isn’t finding the gaps or shooting it over the fence as he once did.” could.”

Hopefully next August, when the Orioles make a run in the AL East, Martinez will turn 38. He proved in 2024 that he still has something left in the tank and will likely have suitors due to a career full of production. as well as a strong veteran presence in the locker room, but Baltimore shouldn’t get caught up in a bidding war for an aging DH whose production is declining.

Martinez had a very solid 2023 season with the Dodgers after his numbers started to decline in Boston. But after struggling through injuries in 2024 and falling far short of matching the same production, time has run out on Martinez as a valuable commodity in free agency.