Martinez eases into work on first full day of spring training

FORT MYERS, Fla. --  It will be another week before J.D. Martinez sees any game action with the Red Sox, but the newest member of the team spent Tuesday taking several rounds of batting practice and getting acclimated to his new surroundings.

“That’s the best part, just being around the guys and getting to know your teammates and stuff like that,’’ said Martinez. “You obviously hear about them, they hear about you, so just to get an understanding of everyone’s personalities and stuff like that, it’s cool.’’

While the other position players reported to camp more than two weeks ago, Martinez finds himself behind due to his delayed signing. It will take a few days for him to get up to speed – literally.

“As far as being game-ready, Alex (Cora) kind of left it up to me,’’ said Martinez. “He was like, ‘Dude, you tell me.’ And I’m kind of leaving it up to the strength coach. We ran today. I’ll start running a bit more, ramp it up. (Everyone else) has been running for two weeks before they got into a game. You can’t help it, in a game, when you hit a ball, you’re going to want to take off.  So, we’re just trying to ease into it."

A week or so ago, Martinez felt closer to being ready for spring training. But that was before he spent a few days in limbo: undergoing physicals, flying to Boston, and sitting around while his agent Scott Boras worked out final details on his five-year, $110 million contract.

“I haven’t seen breaking balls,’’ he said. “I haven’t seen velocity. You can face a (pitching) machine, but a machine’s not an arm. It’s obviously different. It takes time. Usually, my spring training numbers aren’t very good, but I never expect them to be. It’s about finding it. Spring training’s the time to work on stuff, and get ready, really.

“I definitely want to see some live BP before I get into a game, just so I can see the velocity and stuff. I was ready and now it feels like, ‘Where I am at?’ I have to iron some stuff out. It’s really about controlling the volume more, because (you’re tempted) to dive in and go all out. But you have to hold yourself back a little bit and just increase your volume (gradually) with your running, your outfield play. It’s day-to-day.’’