CLEVELAND -- In just over three months, J.D. Martinez will make a career-altering decision. The Red Sox slugger, who will start at designated hitter for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, will have the ability to opt out of his contract and enter the free-agent market.

Martinez is not close to making a decision, he said Monday, and hasn’t even gotten to the point where he’s discussing the opt-out with his agent, Scott Boras. But it’s clear the soon-to-be 32-year-old would have no problem with remaining in Boston past this season.

“100%,” Martinez said when asked if he wanted to play the rest of his career in Boston. “Boston has been my favorite team since I was a kid. I’ve always dreamt of being there. I’ve loved the family side, the way they treat their players and the way they act. It’s a first-class organization and obviously I’d like to be a part of it for the rest of my career. But that’s not really up to me, in a sense.”

Martinez will lean heavily on Boras, who negotiated a 5-year, $110 million contract with the Red Sox that includes opt-outs after each of the next three seasons. The options are simple this fall: Martinez will either opt into a $23.75 million salary for 2020 and retain his opt-out after the 2020 season or hit free agency and take a $2.5 million buyout.

Martinez has repeatedly stated he’s open to a long-term extension with the Red Sox that removes the opt outs, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has been hesitant to engage. Speaking at the GM meetings in November, Dombrowski cited Martinez’s complicated 2020 and 2021 opt-outs (related to a Lisfranc foot injury he had previously suffered) as the reason the Red Sox were unwilling to make a firmer commitment.

“The reason we put them in there was medically oriented, as we went through at the time,” Dombrowski said then. “There was concern, so that’s why they were in there."

Martinez’s contract, which was revised after he underwent his physical to finalize the deal, provides the Sox with some insurance in case Martinez’s foot injury recurs. If Martinez misses a certain amount of time (60 straight days in 2020 or 120 between 2019 and 2020), his 2020 opt-out becomes a mutual option. The same goes for the 2021 opt-out if his foot is injured in 2021.

Martinez said he has not dealt with any foot issues since joining the Red Sox. He was shocked the physical caused the sides to rework the deal last spring.

“I was very confused,” Martinez said. “I was going to the top doctors in the league and they were all telling me the same thing, that I was going to be fine and that it was in my past already.”

Though Martinez has avoided the injured list over the last two seasons, the concern over his foot was clearly enough for Dombrowski to avoid engaging on an extension last winter. Martinez said he’s not disappointed about the lack of discussions.

“I understand it,” Martinez said. “It’s a business. I’ll never hold it against anybody or anything like that. I’ve been through it too many times. If I did opt out, it wouldn’t be a personal thing. It would be a business thing. Same thing on their end so there’s an understanding on that.”

Both sides benefit from different aspects of the complicated contract. Martinez has the ability to cash in on a new free-agent deal if he chooses and the Red Sox are protected in case Martinez’s foot becomes a problem.

Told of Dombrowski’s comments in November, Boras said he negotiated the contract in a way that ensures Martinez has all the power regarding his future.

“The club guaranteed J.D. $110 million,” Boras said. “That’s all I know. They guaranteed him $110. If J.D. does not opt out, they have to pay him $110 million. He can shorten that contract if he so desires. That’s how I view the contract and that’s what the language says.”

The opt-out after this season is totally unrelated to the foot injury and will depend on if Martinez and Boras think they can find a better deal elsewhere. One factor that could come into play is the expansion of the DH rule, as Martinez could find himself with a more robust market if the DH is implemented in the National League in the coming years.

“I think that’s going to make a major impact and have a major role, what’s going to happen with that and my decision,” Martinez said.

The DH rule will be one of many factors Martinez and Boras will weigh in the coming months as they make a decision that will have major implications on Boston’s lineup for years to come.

“I think its largely J.D. and the Red Sox’s choice,” Boras said. “We designed the contract to see how a guy would do over a couple of years in Boston. Then he can take a look and determine. They won a world championship, he’s had two MVP-type seasons and is a two-time All-Star. I think it has gone really well for both.

“As to what Boston decides to do going forward with us, we’ll listen. I’m sure J.D. will follow with his decisions from there.”