Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez has been a big name around the hot stove during the early part of the offseason. It now appears that the veteran, who led the club with a .335 average this past season, will remain with the Tigers on a four-year contract.
Sources: #Tigers close to re-signing Victor Martinez to four-year deal.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 12, 2014
Detroit was fully prepared to look in another direction, but it seems that things heated up between to the two sides in recent days. If finalized, this deal enables the Tigers to retain one of the countless top-end free agents they might potentially lose moving forward this offseason.
Both Torii Hunter and Max Scherzer are also on the open market.
Martinez, an All-Star performer this past season, hit .335 with a MLB-leading .409 on-base percentage. Pretty much only a designated hitter at this point in his career, the market for Martinez’s services was limited to American League teams.
At 36 years old, it is surprising that Martinez would get a four-year contract. It remains to be seen what the parameters of the deal are. We will update this piece when that becomes available.
Update (5:02 pm et): Martinez’s deal is said to be worth about $70 million over four seasons.
Photo: USA Today