The Detroit Tigers have reportedly re-signed one of their two big MLB free agents, and are rumored to be close on a four-year deal with designated hitter Victor Martinez.
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Victor Martinez appears to be staying put this offseason, as he’s close to a four-year deal to return to the Detroit Tigers. It was expected the Tigers would make a hard push to keep their designated hitter, who is a candidate for the American League MVP award after a stellar 2014 season.
Martinez, who will be 36 next season, hit 32 home runs and helped the Tigers claim the AL Central championship, and there’s a chance that this will be his final Major League deal, as he will play the final year of the four-year pact at age 40.
Detroit was all in on this Tigers team as it’s currently constructed; huge extensions to slugger Miguel Cabrera and starting pitcher Justin Verlander haven’t even kicked in yet, and ace Max Scherzer is one of the top two free agent pitchers available this winter after rejecting an eight-year extension in spring training.
The team couldn’t afford to lose Martinez’s bat, and will live with crappy production in the final years of the deal if he helps them to a World Series title first. We don’t yet know how much the Tigers will pay Martinez, but at this point in that organization’s run, getting a championship seems to matter most.
Martinez had his best season since 2007 last year, with 4.4 Wins Above Replacement, per Fangraphs, and a blistering .409 on base percentage. Martinez is mostly a DH at this point, but did see the field 37 times with Detroit last season, mostly at first base, but also twice as the team’s catcher.
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