FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Considering it took four months for the Boston Red Sox and J.D. Martinez to get together, what's another day before they make things official?
Martinez arrived at the Red Sox's spring training facility Wednesday and underwent a physical, the last step in finalizing his five-year, $110 million contract. But for a second day in a row, the team announced there would not be a news conference to introduce the free-agent slugger because the physical had not been completed.
The delay prompted speculation that the Red Sox uncovered a medical problem, but team officials insisted the process of reviewing medical information simply hasn't been completed.
"All I can say is that he continues to take his physical," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in a text message.
Dombrowski wouldn't get into specifics about whether the Red Sox will send Martinez to Boston for further testing or fly a particular doctor to Fort Myers to see Martinez in person.
Asked if Martinez will work out with the Red Sox on Friday, Dombrowski said he was "unsure."
One major league source said the Red Sox are merely being "thorough," as they would with any free agent who signs a nine-figure contract. In December 2015, for example, the Sox agreed to terms with David Price on a Tuesday night, flew him to Boston for a physical and didn't hold a news conference until Friday of that week to finalize the seven-year, $217 million deal.
Martinez has had a long injury history. In 2016, he crashed into the outfield wall and fractured his right elbow. Last year, he missed the season's first few weeks with a sprained Lisfranc ligament in his right foot.