Re-signing Victor Martinez will be top priority for Detroit Tigers

At 35 years old, Victor Martinez is having a ridiculously good season thus far for the Detroit Tigers. As of one week ago he had more home runs than strikeouts on the season. That is no longer true, though V-Mart is one big game away from making it true again: he currently has 13 strikeouts and 12 home runs.

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With the Tigers apparently content that ace pitcher Max Scherzer will be gone as a free agent this off-season, the team will turn its attention to re-signing Martinez as its top priority in free agency. According to Chris Iott of mlive.com, that might be the sure thing among a number of fluid situations for Detroit after the 2014 season:

"“The Tigers will certainly try to re-sign Victor Martinez. I expect Max Scherzer to get a better (huge) deal elsewhere. Torii Hunter is 38 years old and his defense is fading quickly. I can’t get a read on that situation right now. If Joba Chamberlain continues to pitch well, the Tigers would want him back…It’s way too early to get a read on Joel Hanrahan. Phil Coke? The Tigers won’t pursue him if he doesn’t improve.”"

It was only a matter of time until the Tigers got their payoff with Martinez. All the guy has done is hit throughout the course of his career, but injuries derailed his entire 2012 season. If not for that setback he has raked for the Tigers as well. 2014 has been especially impressive as V-Mart has jumped out to a .337/.393/.611 slash line through 46 games.

With he and Miguel Cabrera in the middle of a deep and talented lineup, it is no wonder why the Tigers look like a team to beat in the AL thus far.