On the heels of the best year of his career, Victor Martinez has cashed in and will be staying put in Detroit, agreeing to a four-year, $68 million contract with the Tigers on Wednesday, pending a physical per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Perhaps the most coveted offensive player on the free-agent market, Martinez had an incredible 2014, hitting .335/.409/.565 with 32 homers, putting him amongst the contenders for the American League MVP. He led the league in on-base percentage and OPS (.964) and was good for 4.4 wins above replacement via Fangraphs.
In an offseason that saw Martinez, Max Scherzer and Torii Hunter all become free agents, it was Martinez that became Detroit’s big offseason focus, and after the 35-year-old rejected the team’s qualifying offer, it was apparent he was looking for a major payday. It becomes the second four-year contract Detroit has given Martinez, as he signed a $50 million deal with Detroit before the 2010 season.
With it being the first major signing of the offseason, Martinez’s deal means a lot to other bat-first candidates like Nelson Cruz and Billy Butler, especially with Cruz having a monster year not unlike Martinez while being a year younger than Martinez. With Martinez primarily holding down the designated hitter role for Detroit, the contract does have a chance to be worthwhile, but only if Martinez can remain healthy, which might be asking a lot of a former catcher coming off major knee surgery two years ago.
For the Tigers, the move signifies that they would be starting off 2015 with the highest payroll in team history if they are able to re-sign one of either Scherzer or Hunter. Scherzer is asking for a contract similar to the one handed to Justin Verlander before last season, which was for seven years and $180 million. Hunter would be looking for a shorter contract as he is almost 40 years old, but with his decreased range in the outfield, a move to a DH spot might be necessary, possibly clearing him out of Detroit’s offseason plans.
