5:10pm: Martinez will be paid $14MM in 2015 and then $18MM from 2016-18, tweets Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. He also receives a 10-team no-trade clause for the 2015 season, after which his full 10-and-5 rights kick in.
12:40pm: Victor Martinez was reportedly the Tigers’ top priority this offseason, and the team characteristically struck quickly, announcing Friday a new four-year deal that will reportedly guarantee the Octagon client $68MM to reprise his role as the club’s primary DH. The contract reportedly contains some no-trade protection as well.
Despite the potential loss of other key free agents Max Scherzer and Torii Hunter., bringing Martinez back was of utmost importance to Detroit. The 35-year-old Martinez enjoyed perhaps the finest offensive season of his 12-year career in 2014, slashing .335/.409/.565 with a career-high 32 homers. He led the league in both on-base percentage and OPS. At the GM Meetings in Phoenix today, GM Dave Dombrowski told MLBTR’s Jeff Todd that it is hard to set a ceiling on Martinez’s value to the Tigers. Declining to discuss specifics, Dombrowski said that the club knows it will need to pay a steep price to retain the DH, but will push hard to do so and thereby maintain its dangerous 3-4-5 combination.
As Jeff highlighted earlier today, the Tigers already have $146MM in commitments to the 2015 roster when factoring in guaranteed contracts and projected arbitration salaries. Martinez will reportedly earn $17MM per season, bringing Detroit’s commitment to next year’s roster to a hefty $163MM — just $1MM shy of the team’s franchise record Opening Day payroll of $164MM, set this past season. At this point, it seems likely that they’ll exceed that mark, barring some trades to alleviate salary, as the club is reportedly interested in beefing up its bullpen as well and still has some potential question marks in the outfield.
Martinez, one of the most attractive bats on the free agent market, has also been connected to the Mariners, White Sox and Blue Jays at various points over the past month or so. Some questioned whether the Tigers had the capability to add yet another significant long-term contract to the books with the likes of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and, to a lesser extent, Anibal Sanchez and Ian Kinsler bogging down the team’s payroll in future seasons. The four-year commitment to Martinez runs through the 2018 season — the same year in which Cabrera and Verlander are owed respective salaries of $30MM and $28MM. Detroit is also committed to paying $6MM of Prince Fielder’s salary that season even though he, of course, is now with the Rangers.
From a roster standpoint, the long-term commitment to Martinez is significant, in that it prevents a roadblock to giving Cabrera any significant time at DH over the next four seasons. While Cabrera is again playing first base (and doing a fine job, per UZR and DRS) rather than struggling to get by at the hot corner, he’s also begun to show signs of age, playing through significant injuries in each of the past two seasons. Detroit will now have to hope that the aging MVP candidate’s body can hold up for four more seasons of full-time duty in the field (or close to it).
The Tigers made a one-year, $15.3MM qualifying offer to Martinez, who naturally rejected in favor of testing the open market. Had he signed elsewhere, the Tigers would have netted a compensatory draft pick. However, he’ll instead return to the fold, perhaps for the remainder of his career, as he’s said he doesn’t want to play past 40, and this contract would run through his age-39 season. Martinez’s departure from the free agent market is good news for other bats such as Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera and Billy Butler, who now face less competition.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the two sides were getting close on a four-year deal (Twitter link). Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes noted that the contract was near $70MM in value (Spanish link), and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the agreement and final terms (All Twitter links). Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported news of the no-trade protection (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
4yr 72mil……
That’s the price? Wow. I was thinking maybe $50-$60 million tops (if he was to get 4 year).
I think it’s more of a guess…
Well in the end, he wasn’t far off.
Hahaha 50-60 Mil tops… get real, players that are half as good as Martinez are getting almost 17 million a years he`s worth more then 12-15 million if you look around at other contracts.
18 Mil a year is a good price.
Players that are half as good play full time defense. The only glove this guy puts on is a batting glove. Also a vast majority of other contracts that are that amount or higher aren’t good ones either
He needs to play some more games at first to help keep Cabrera fresh.
Anything that involves Victor Martinez playing more games at first base can not be said to “help” any Tigers player in any way.
Cabrera is not a defensive wizard himself so it won’t hurt that bad. If I was thinking about paying Cabrera for another 9 years I might want him to DH some.
He was a Gold Glove finalist this past year…just saying
As a Tigers fan, WOOOO!!!! Great news!
Ehh, I think it’s 1 year too much, but we shall see (or Hear), what the total cost was. If what Joe Johnson put is correct, that’s a heck of a lot of money for a guy who is pretty much strictly a DH
Still a good hitter though.
I agree that its too much. But, theres been mutual interest between V-Mart and the Tigers. Personally, I think 3 is optimal.
But, as long as he’s healthy it should look good for the Tigers at least for 2015.
I don’t think this is good news at all for the Tigers… now they have a bunch of aging players, making huge salaries, with a meh at best farm system. Going to look like the Phillies and Yankees here very soon.
Yeah they have aging vets making huge salaries, but really only Verlander had a bad year last year. Miggy did have a down year for him, but despite having a down year he’s still pretty damn good. Being realistic V-Mart probably wont be able to replicate his career numbers but the Tigers believe that he’ll still be good so as a fan, Im just gonna be hopeful
Check verlanders’ numbers throught the last 3 years
Okay, I take back my words. Because we dont know if Verlander’s 2014 was bad because of his offseason surgery.
Kinsler had a phenomenal season, but the Verlander and Cabrera contracts are enough of an albatross to really make them look like Philadelphia. Philly’s issue isn’t really lack of talent amongst their veterans – except Ryan Howard – either, it’s sticking with aging players and having a poor farm system, and also letting the right players go. They let Werth and Victorino walked, but doubled down on Utley, Rollins, Hamels, and Ruiz and won’t trade any of them, or Papelbon, or Byrd. They won the WS – which Detroit hasn’t done – and extended their key players long-term, tried to buy a good bullpen, and have made terrible trades of their veterans – think Pence trade – that haven’t replenished the farm system at all. Detroit could easily look like PHI in a few years by keeping the core together for too long, and they’re stuck paying Verlander and Cabrera as is for way too long. The specific issues are different, but the overall problem for PHI should soon hit Detroit unless they find another Texas-sized savior to relieve them of one of those contract albatrosses either now or in a few years.
Verlander is only 35 in the last year of his contract in 2020. He gets another year if he finishes top 5 in the Cy Young voting. That’s not a franchise killer.
Cabrera will be 37 that year.
Nobody else on the roster is under contract past 2018.
I don’t see any reason to be concerned.
You don’t see any reason to find Verlander’s 2013-2014 concerning? 140 MM. For five years of a declining Verlander. The Tigers are paying Cabrera 248 MM for 2016 to 2023. That’s a terrible contract. It looked bad when it was signed and now a year later and ~5 WAR later, it looks horrendous. It’s no better than the Pujols contract, universally considered an albatross.
No, I’m not concerned. I’m not going to panic over one contract for a player who was injured, talented, competitive and motivated. Let’s see what 2015 brings.
How is 5 WAR not worth the $22 million they paid Miggy this year. Hardly horrendous.
This is a game, but it is also an entertainment business. As long as stars bring in more revenue than they cost, they are a good investment.
Bunch? More like only 3 and we dont know if theyre bad contracts just yet. Youre jumping the gun way too soon.
those contracts will catch up with them but the owner doesn’t care at his age and that division is up for grabs next couple of years which is why they brought Victor Martinez back even though he will be paid the next 4 years instead of 3 years or ideally 2 years.
The owner bought the team for $82 million. It is now worth a billion. He is ok if team revenues just barely cover expenses.
He also owns half of Downtown and Midtown Detroit. Those investments are enhanced with 3 million fans flocking downtown.
Check out the article by this site that states otherwise. You must be a Tigers fan and don’t see age associated with any of these contracts. IF Martinez is getting 17 million according to you Price and Max should get 30 million a year since they didn’t have just one fluke season above the rest.
You realize that this is a terrible contract, right?
Not in the short term! Maybe long term, but who knows.
HE’s 36!!!!!! Four years?!! The Tigers are crazy.
It honestly all depends on price, more so than years.
Yep…I think even at that advanced age he’ll be fine. You just dont want to be paying him the same amount or more at that point.
Has to be an overpay for him to sign this early.
If they didn’t give him four years, the Mariners would have.
And that’s a bad thing? He’ll be 36 when the season starts. You can find a good DH on the market. The Tigers are getting older and it doesn’t look like they’re going to re-sign Scherzer. With the year Verlander had, they should be looking to get a little more pitching depth.
He is 35
Until next month, when he’s 36.
Time is a flat circle.
And that’s a big contract.
PS……….there’s a lot of money in bad pizza.
And he will be 39 when the contract ends.
you thought it was a great contract giving a DH a QO per year or you were trolling me
Are the Red Sox trolling you? Did you see what David Ortiz is getting?
Guys making $25 million a year did less than VMart. So $17 million a year is a bargain. Jon Heyman, a GM and an agent predicted he would get $70, $78 or $80 million over 4 years. 68 is a bargain in this weak hitting market.
I don’t discount for being primarily a DH. Like pinch hitting, being able to DH is a rare skill. VMart, David Ortiz, Frank Thomas. Most players hate to DH, because their hitting suffers.
VMart plays first when needed and can catch in an emergency. The team is better when he is the DH because the other players can stay on the field where they want to be, and no bodies offense or defense suffers.
DH is terrible and gives the AL teams advantage over the NL in FA. You think pinch hitters should get 17 million a year good Lord
The bowtie knows all.
4 years is a lot hopefully he stays healthy.
Hopefully all their aging players can continue to play defense for the next 4 years as he clogs the DH spot
Which aging players are those? He’ll split DH/1B with Cabrera, but Kinsler looks like he’s holding up fine at 2b, they have Iglesias/Castellanos in their early 20s at SS/3b, 24yo Gose in CF (platooned with early 30s Davis for 1-more year), early 20s JD Martinez in a corner OF spot along with possibly early 20s Moya, and a FA. Avila doesn’t hit well enough to ever DH and they have other, younger guys ready to replace him if his defense slips.
The Tigers are top heavy, but their age is on the other side of the diamond (Nathan, JV).
Fourth year is bad, but its not A-Rod.
He never said it was A-Rod level of awful.
Hopefully there are options in there. Four years is a lot for someone who is 36 but look at David Ortiz. He’s still going strong. Less wear and tear when you are a DH.
He did catch for most of his twenties.
Well Carlos Beltran got 3 years, so this isn’t surprising
Beltran plays the field and still got one less year.This contract makes Beltran’s look good.The guy can hit but he needs to be healthy. He came back quicker DHing when the Yanks should of sat him out until he could play the field. He exposed Ichiro not being a everyday player.If I were the Mets I would of traded for Beltran instead of signing Cuddyer to be honest
i think he can stay healthy since hes played in almost 150 games each of the last 3 years thats hes been dh/1b and hes a career .300 hitter. 14-16 million 3 years wouldnt be that bad. with incentive based 4th
He also missed an entire SEASON in there……..
It was a very unlucky injury just fell on his ankle wrong when he hit a home run. If he stays DH he wont be injury prone.
Darn! Now the Mariners need to look for someone else to make them barely miss the playoffs.
V-mart getting signed means that Torii Hunter, if he doesnt retire, will likely be DH-ing somewhere else.
With a little luck, you’ll get Not-Gonna-Hit-Homers-No-More Butler
Tigers better work on that bullpen before locking up 36 year old designated hitters for $72 million bucks.
V-Mart deserves more respect than that. He’s about to finish 2nd in MVP voting and outperformed everyone else on the team that has Miguel Cabrera on it.
But youre right about the bullpen.
They cleared almost 30M this offseason in FA dollars. They put 18M into V-Mart and have ~12M for a reliever and outfield help, plus if they raise their payroll, they can add even more.
They cleared money but you’re not considering arbitration raises to guys like Price and Porcello, or even Avila. The payroll figures floated today had them at 146 MM. Last year’s opening day payroll was 164 MM apparently, and Martinez just signed a contract worth 17 MM AAV. Let’s assume he’s only paid 15 MM year one. They’re still only 3 MM from their payroll last year. If they don’t raise payroll they really have 3 MM for relief and outfield help, and have question marks at the backend of the rotation (Porcello, Verlander, Sanchez, Price, who?) the bullpen, third base, shortstop, and corner outfield. Rajai Davis also really isn’t much of a centerfielder to be playing full-time. This isn’t even looking at the 80 MM they’ll likely be paying, minimum, to Victor Martinez, Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera in 2018, when Prince Fielder will still be in Texas.
Jose Iglesias is the shortstop and Nick Castellanos is the third baseman. Both young and talented. They have lots of internal fifth starter candidates. Heck, Drew Smyly as the fifth hardly pitched this year until June.
They do need to find an outfielder or two.
That OK. Let them go cheap for their most important need.
I stink at guessing where these free agents are going to land.
Detroit needed a bat to pair with Cabrera and honestly with Price and Porcello becoming FA after the 2015 season their window to compete is very short. Overpaying for Victor Martinez is a justifiable decision for the Tigers.
Fister is with the Nats.
Your right I mean Porcello, the other severely undervalued starter for the Tigers.
I believe his last year of Arb is ’15. He wont be a free agent until ’16, IIRC.
When Cots/baseball reference says a player will become a FA in 2016 it means he will be a FA in the 2015-2016 offseason. This is Porcello’s 4th and final year of arbitration, same as Price.
You say that now. Talk to me in 2 years.
In 2 years the Tigers are going to be crippled by Cabrera and Verlander’s contracts anyhow. It wont be Martinez’s 4 year deal that sinks them.
Miggy isnt that old…..the way things are looking for Verlander though. I agree.
Miggy isn’t young, either. He’s, what, going to turn 32 just after opening day? Cabrera could be toast by this time 3 or 4 years from now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a very regular-looking player by the end of the 2017 season, at which point he’ll have six guaranteed years at about 180 MM total left on his contract. That’s bad. That’s crippling. It’s not all about Cabrera’s performance, but also that 248 MM dollar, 8-year extensions to 33-year-olds are universally bad ideas.
You do know those age 41 and 42 years only vest if he finishes top 10 in MVP voting right?
If he does that, then it’s not a bad idea.
Oh please. He’s Miguel Cabrera, whose already proved himself as one of the elites.
There are more chances that 2017 Miguel Cabrera will still be very powerful than not. Cmon now.
Gotcha. May as well sign every good player to an above-market contract, then.
You mean blessed to have both of those players locked up… both Miggy and JV were recovering from core muscle surgery so I expect their numbers to improve next year. Ya cant have an MVP season every year… and to expect it from those guys year in year out… the Martinez deal guarantees a strong middle of the lineup(3-4-5) for several years.
Except now Tigers are locked into Cabrera in the field for the next 4 seasons
That’s a good thing since he was a Gold Glove finalist and prefers not to DH until he has to.
4 years is incredibly risky. Understandable with his season though
My guess is the forth year would be an option. My guess is around $15-16 per year… probably $16 million. Last year will have a buyout or vesting option in it.
If it was an option, it’d be reported as a three-year deal. Martinez was aiming for a four-year deal and wouldn’t settle for three this early on. Multiple reporters have now said four.
It’s a straight four year deal worth a guaranteed 17 MM per year. No reported buyout or options in it, yet.
can victor martinez close games or pitch in the bullpen
Exactly. All this money for offense but now you have no money left for a great closer or bullpen help. As a Royals fan I like this move alot!!!
We spent a lot of money last year on a great closer and bullpen help in Nathan and Soria. I’m done with that and apparently so are the Tigers.
No…..
But he can bat behind Miggy.
No. But to be fair, neither can anyone else on the Tigers.
Obviously somebody was going to give him a 4 year deal. Even if he’s going to DH for all 4 years he’s worth it.
Surprised no one else has outbid them considering the season he just had
Well hes 36 in a month
His power might decline, but good contact skills should carry him
To 40?
Clearly you have to overpay in terms of years to get a batting eye like his. He struck out 42 times in 641 PA. That’s sick! I wouldn’t bet against it, look at Big Papi.
Using Papi as a justification for signing players to age 40 probably isnt a good idea. Papi is more of the exception than the rule, that is why he never got the late career multi-year deals he was looking for from the Red Sox.
Martinez is also one of those exceptions, and especially so with the sport-wide decline in offense.
Why? VMART is actually a better hitter than Papi (with less power). Why can’t he hit just as well as Papi for the next 4 years.
VMART is already an exception.
A lot of hitters better than Papi have also crumbled earlier on than V-Mart.
Victor Martinez is a better hitter than Ortiz? Victor Martinez has a 139 wRC+ from 2013-2014 and missed 2012. David Ortiz has a 143 wRC+ from 2013-2014. Victor Martinez is projected to hit .304/.372/.480 for a 136 wRC+ next season. David Ortiz is projected to hit .277/.366/.496 for a 134 wRC+ next season. It is entirely justifiable to say they are equals going forward, and Ortiz had to go year to year because Boston is smart and wasn’t going to commit huge years for a bat-only player late in his thirties. Martinez has not yet become the exception yet, but even if he does hit like Papi, he’s not going to get better and his bat is about as good as Papi’s. Best case scenario is V-Mart plays like Papi for four more years and comes close to earning that 68 MM. Worst case scenario is Martinez plays like dozens of bat-only players before him with good mid-30s seasons and falls apart, like Vladimir Guerrero or others.
Thank you……NUFF said
Martinez had a great year and has had a great career. Papi is three years older at this point and I’d rather have Martinz going forward. But year by year he HAS NOT been a better hitter than Papi. Martinez has great peripherals but don’t expect him to continue his rate or power stats going forward. The Tigers have an awful lot of money invested in guys in their 30s who are either over 35 or shown some level of decline. Not a smart business model. They have gutted a shallow farm system. Not to be mean but this team has “Illitch’ s dying wish” written all over it. 2015 or bust at this point. The Tigers have so much money invested in Verlander, Sanchez, Cabrera, Kinsler, Martinez and the ghost of Prince Fielder that it’s hard to see this run going much longer.
VMart is a 36yr old who played catcher for 10yrs…
He is 35 years old, only caught 100 games a season 5 times and still catches once in a while.
Do you think this will lead to DD moving some players to liquidate cash?
I think they’re fine because they lost Scherzer and Tori Hunters combined ~30M salary.
Well… They gave Cabrera that ridiculous over-priced contract that’ll go well past his good years, so I guess they might as well keep the trend going.
Hope it works out though.
I think cabrera will need Dh in the next 2 yrs.
I think the biggest question with the Cabrera deal is why they were in a rush to get it done?? If you’re gonna give him 300 mill, at least do it after the 2 years he has left in his current deal. What if he gets hurt in those two years… They essentially outbid themselves lol.
VMart plays first when Cabrera can”t
Not exactly. His defense hasn’t declined throughout his entire career and will only be 33 in 2 years.
Most players don’t get moved to DH because their defense is in decline, most of them get moved there because they can’t stay healthy fielding everyday.
ESPN/Olney say it’s a done deal.
Another year of him stealing signs from us…*sigh*…he could have done that for us instead
Sounds fine for now, but will you like it in 2017?
Verlander makes 28M, Miggy makes 30M+, Sanchez makes 16M, V-Mart makes +17M, Price is still to be extended, Kinsler makes +11m. This team is going to be wrecked in 2017 either way.
2016 when you consider the shape their farm system is in.
Plan B now Mariners= Yasmani Tomas
Going to have to overpay with the Phillies and possibly the Tigers still involved. Mariners should probably look at guys like Cruz, Morse, Byrd and Rios.
Nelson Cruz and Hanley Ramirez seem more likely to me. Tomas, a 24 yr old OFer with no MLB experience, and Martinez, a 36 year old DH coming of superb MLB season, are very different players. I dont think any team realistically thinks they fill the same need or are alternatives to one another.
Yeah Im sure youre right. I still think Yasmany would be the best option for a bat now that Victor is gone. You never know though. I also like the fact that Yasmany is younger
I’m hitting .333 in the FA predicton contest! Thank God for ARam..
Waste of money if they don’t fix the pen.
They still have almost 15M off the books even after this signing, they’ll be in the smart for some relievers. (Bastardo, Grilli, Romo?)
Where do you get 15MM off the books from? Price’s 2015 salary will take up all the money they save by letting Scherzer walk.
Tori Hunter’s 14M, the possibility of Joakim Soria’s option getting turned down.
They already picked up Soria’s option and with Martinez’s salary due to rise by about 5 MM dollars a year that only leaves 9 MM which will easily be used up in arbitration raises.
Price is only projected a 5M raise, Scherzer made 14M, that leaves another 9M off because of Scherzer.
If you read this post, you’ll see that with this salary and including projected arb raises, the Tigers have a payroll that’s almost exactly the same as their $164 from last year. They have no money left, unless they want to raise their payroll again.
Scherzer’s salary gets vetoed by Price’s next season. Then you have to account for the $8M raise for Verlander and now the likely $5M for V-Mart. Unless the Tigers decide to increase payroll they have reached their limit.
4 years 70 mil according to reports
That’s pretty bad
it was just posted at top of page, my info was from him too
No no…I’m saying that the contract is bad
oh haha i should have seen that, my bad
No worries man. 70 million over 4 years doesnt make me feel good.
Martinez turns 36 just before Christmas. It will be interesting to see how this contract plays out the last 2 years when he’s 38 and 39. $70MM +/- over 4 years = $17.5MM AAV
Thank God the White Sox didn’t overpay for him
I would have done 4 years. But not 70 million.
Wow, 4 years and $70 million for a guy who is almost 36?
A lot of risk in that contract, IMO.
Tigers will owe Martinez,Cabrera and Verlander in 2018 $78 million. That’s….not good.
Gotta think Hanley Ramirez is licking his chops now.
I don’t understand how the to are connected, but okay. Basically the only in-common suiter was the Mariners.
Well, Martinez is 5 years older and is basically a DH. Gotta think Hanley is worth more since he’s younger and can play SS or 3B.
Hanley was going to top 4/68M either way lol. I understand your thought though.
Yeah, I know. But VMart getting $68 mill for 4 yrs seems to set the market high for right-handed power.
Did Martinez decide he wasn’t going to be a switch-hitter this offseason and I missed it?
V Mart is a switch hitter and I believe his career average numbers (left vs. right) has a difference of less than 5 points.
VMART is a professional hitting savant. Hanley has a different skill set.
As of 2014? He wasn’t a “savant” in the 10 years prior. Hanley’s been the better hitter throughout his career *and* had a higher peak than Martinez’s peak this year.
Victor has always been a solid, .300 hitter with some power, the ability to knock in runs in critical situations, and hit the same from both sides of the plate while getting no leg hits.
…Ok. And Hanley’s always been a better hitter than him.
But definition NO. Because Hanley got hits with his legs, not his bat. VMART has only gotten hits with his bat.
There is a ~5% difference in the number “leg hits” between them in their careers. Even if we reduce his wRC+ by 5 percentage points (which is *definitely* not how that works – the magnitude of the effect is probably about 2 percentage points), Hanley remains a better hitter than Martinez.
Martinez has a career 125 wRC+ and a career .306/.373/.475 batting line. Hanley Ramirez has a career 133 wRC+ and a career .300/.373/.500 batting line. Victor Martinez cannot play the field and is 36. Hanley Ramirez can play the field and is going to turn 31 just before Christmas.
VMart is a team leader and Hanley is questionable. A dozen teams were interested in Martinez and the win now deep pockets Dodgers are letting Hanley walk. You have to wonder why.
A dozen? What dozen are you talking about? There’s fifteen AL teams. Cleveland and Kansas City and Tampa Bay and Oakland all absolutely cannot afford him. We’re already down to eleven. The Yankees need to keep their DH spot open. Ten. David Ortiz. Nine. The Angels are too close to the luxury tax to waste money improving the best offense in the sport, and the Twins are too far away to make this sort of splash. Seven. The Rangers, White Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays, Orioles, Mariners and Astros were the seven suitors. Hanley Ramirez has been connected in various capacities to the Rockies, Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Mariners, Astros. Six suitors. There will be other teams to emerge as suitors for Han-Ram. Hanley might eventually be a Hall of Famer and has already surpassed 40 career WAR. There is really no comparison between the two. You take the leadership, I’ll take the superior performance.
Also, the deep-pocket Dodgers you refer to are consciously trying to spend less and just hired Andrew Friedman to oversee this operation. I don’t think their pockets will be as deep going forward as we originally thought. Let’s see what Hanley fetches on the open market before making any assumptions. I’d almost guarantee every franchise in the sport will pay Hanley 4/68 before V-Mart.
hope it doesn’t turn out like ordonez or guillen, when they both signed long term contracts and then were injured and played out contracts with no effort.
Good sign. $17.5/Year for VMART is fine when the QO is likely to be higher than that in only 2 years or so. It is really that not high of a salary for a MVP runner up.
Good now the Tigers can move on and sign other player.
With what money? They already have as much on the books as last season if you include arbitration raises.
Why are you so concerned with Money?
Tigers Economics:
$0.50 worth of cheese + $0.25 worth of bread + $0.50 labor … sold at $5 * Billions and Billions of Pizzas = Enough Money to afford VMART.
Now go get a couple of hot and readies if you are Tigers fan.
The American League Phillies…
Thought that was the Yankees.
Last time I checked… VMART > Howard…. and with a much lower contract value.
V-Mart is actually owed more then Howard right now, and into his later years. Howard is under contracted through his age 36 season.
VMART can actually hit baseballs better than any other human right now (arguably maybe Cabrera is slightly better)… I have no problem with him getting paid a little over half of Kershaw in AAV.
He hit extremely well in 2014, but I’m not sure I buy a 36 year old having a career year at the plate for the next 4 years at nearly 70 million dollars. 2014 was his career high in home runs, and 6 more than he hit in his last 2 playing years combined. Victor is a phenomenal hitter, but I’m not sure he’s the power hitter that he’s getting paid for.
He is getting paid to help Miggy by hitting in the #4 spot, play some 1st base and just flat out hit the ball. He will out perform his pay and league averages for pay in every year.
Yeah and Michael Brantley is Barry Bonds.
Or Giants since it was an overpay to retain one of their players….
Other than Lincecum and Pagan, who did they overpay?
Scutaro
Aubrey huff? Matt Cain? Mark Scutaro?
Aubrey Huff signed a 2/20M extension off a 5+ WAR season if I remember correctly, which he would have gotten more in FA. Cain got a market-level deal coming off a 14 win, 2.89, All-star campaign. I’m not saying they are great contracts, but market-level.
And Martinez signed this deal after leading the MLB in OBP and OPS…. Did the Huff, Cain, Lincecum, Pagan and Scutaro deals turn out well for SF?
Zito and Rowand
Nah, the Phillies actually won something when they were good.
Within the next 2-3+yrs or so, certainly
Why can’t VMART = Big Papi in 3 years?
Do you understand we are taking all contracts into the mix? We arent even talking performance. Just straight up money. Straight cash
Miggy and VMART are at the absolute top of the Hitting Bell Curve. They may rank #1 and #2 in all of baseball in terms of pure hitting. There is no reason that they cannot be #20 and #25 in 3 years. Big Papi is a good comparable.
The point I was making did a flyby I see
My point is that he will STILL Be worth it even then!
#1: Ortiz was primarily a DH his entire career, while Martinez was fielding one of the most demanding physical positions.
#2: Ortiz has PED allegations looming over his career and “mysteriously” gained bat speed at 35 years old after his declining seasons of 2008-2009.
Personally, I don’t think anyone sees Martinez replicating his 2014 season in the future. He’s a great contact hitter that never strikes out but obviously Detroit is in desperation mode as they know their window of competing is closing fast. It’s a good signing if Martinez can continue to be the .300 hitter he’s been for the majority of his career.
Its possible and the Tigers are willing to gamble 68 million dollars on it. They’ve already spent a lot so might as well pile it on
How are they gambling $68MM on it? In three years there will only be $17MM left.
All four years are a gamble. There are not too many 36 yo players worth $17m/yr. The Tigers can afford to take the risk that he ages as well as Ortiz.
What people don’t understand is that this deal is for this year and possibly next. That is the tigers window to win it all before they are old and tired.
No we get that part. We just dont like sacrificing 2 years with no guarantees for many more years of pain.
Pretty sweet deal for V-Mart. Outperformed his career average by about 40% – and outperformed his career-best by about 30%. Cashed in bigtime.
VMARTs 162 average (over his career):
.306 Average, .373 OBP, 21 HRs, 103 RBIs, .847 OPS.
Outside of his one year lost to injury, he has been extremely consistent.
Offensive environments have changed though, and V-Mart’s actual production has too. His wRC+’s since 2004: 119, 128, 123, 129, 86, 126, 122, 130, did not play, 112, 166. One of these is not like the others. 2013-2014 has V-Mart at 139 wRC+ total, and projections peg him for 136 wRC+ going forward. Martinez is good, and he has been consistent, but also consistently much worse than he was in 2014. Also telling me a 162-game average tells me absolutely nothing about consistency. Give me the standard deviations of those per-162 stats each season and we can talk about consistency.
If he averages 115+, the Tigers will be happy.
I highly doubt if Victor Martinez puts up a 115 wRC+ four the next four years the Tigers would be happy at all. Major league DHs the past two years have averaged about a 108 wRC+. You’re not paying the man 17 MM dollars per year for ages 36-39 to get barely above average production. You’re clearly hoping for 135-140 wRC+ production in years 1 and 2 and 120~ wRC+ production in years 3 and 4, otherwise you don’t make this deal. If V-Mart only puts up a 115 wRC+, this will be an absolutely horrendous, terrible contract.
The Tigers are making this deal because VMART is the best pure hitter in baseball right now and he makes Miggy better. I think you are underestimating how important he is in keeping Miggy in the MVP hunt every single year… regardless of his advanced stats.
I have absolutely no idea where you got those percentages from.
Probably wRC+ where his career mark is 125 (41 points improved, to 166) and his previous high water mark had been 130, and the stat is a percentage above average stat. It could be OPS+, too. He’s almost surely talking about those rate stats, though.
Improving your wRC+ by 41 points is not the same outperforming your career average by 40%. Outperforming his career average by 40% would be posting an wRC+ of 175.
I know this, but I’m assuming he got this wrong since the actual stat is percentage better than average.
Sure you do. You’re just pointing out that I confused percent and percentage points. Something I do often.
$68/4. No blue light special at the VMart for the Tigers.
You have to imagine Dombrowski had no role in this and crazy old Ilitch is pulling the strings. Or Dombrowski is joining him in loony town.
Crazy old Illitch bought this franchise for $82 million and now it’s worth a billion. He did it the same way he turned the Red Wings into a Hockeytown pot of gold. Star power and playoff contention every year.
Hope the Detroit fans appreciate their owner…many teams don’t have the benefit of such a benevolent owner.
Thank goodness the albatross known as Prince Fielder’s deal is safely residing in Arlington. Well, “safely” for Tigers, anyway…
To quote GOB … “I’ve made a huge mistake.”
Teams the are knocking on the door like the Tigers tend to resist change, three years would have been enough.
There is no logical comparison with the Phillies here.
1. If VMART gets injured, the Tigers will cash in insurance… just like they already did.
2. If VMART is not injured, he will continue to share 1st/DH with Miggy and turn into Big Papi… or maybe a little better hitter with a little less power. There is 0% chance that he will turn into Ryan Howard.
3. There is no one on the Phillies roster that was comparable to Miguel Cabrera. He may slow down, but he is not going to stop knowing how to hit the ball for at least the next 6+ years.
4. Verlander may be comparable to one of the Phillies Aces… perhaps. But he is done with his contract in 5 years. If he can be a #3 for 3 of those years, the Tigers should be fine. Also remember that he played hurt last year.
Keep in mind he is a couple of years younger than Shields who is expected to get $20MM/year in AAV for 5 years. I would say it is 50/50 which of those two will have the better “next 5 years”.
I know, right. You’re even missing the biggest difference. Phillies actually got their WS ring before they way overpaid everyone trying to get a second one.
Ouch! that one hurt.
My short rebuttable to you is that I would much rather be a Tigers fan than a Phillies fan right now. Dombrowski is not Amaro. Proof? Doug Fister for prospects trade… or the Granderson and Edwin Jackson trade for prospects (Scherzer and Austin Jackson).
My longer counterpoise…
The joy of the Tigers is the chase for the ring. I have no complaints about their 5 playoff appearances and near misses, coupled with the most exciting off seasons for any team in the last 9 years… From Pudge, to Magglio, to Cabrera and Scherzer trades to the Fielder and Fister deals.
The Tigers were the ones that beat the Yankees 3 straight times in the postseason and the ones that somehow beat the As 3 times as well. There is no shame in what the Tigers have accomplished so far.
The fact that they have not won the World Series, justifies signing VMART MORE, don’t you think?
Next year, sure, I’d rather be the Tigers. But 3 years from now? Probably the Phillies (because they’ll be ahead of the Tigers in the rebuilding process). Also, if you’re going to use “Dombrowski is not Amaro” – your first example shouldn’t be the Doug Fister trade (a top 30 pitcher in baseball with 2 years of control left for a falling prospect, mid-reliever with a 5 ERA, and utility guy who was traded for a guy that stopped playing 10 games into the season).
Everyone wants to forget, but RAJ has had some good trades (for Cliff Lee, for Roy Halladay, and for Roy Oswalt). All pretty clear wins for the Phillies.
As far as beating the Yankees and As in the playoffs – big whoop. Nobody cares who you beat, unless you win that last series.
Sure, you could justify signing V-Mart because they need the ring in order for all of this to “work”. But don’t get offended that people point out that you are trying to do exactly what the Phillies did (building around an aging core with some injury history).
Aging core? Average age of Tigers this year was less than the Royals. It will get even lower with Torii being let go.
The “aging core” I was referring to was: Cabrera (32 to start next year), Verlander (32), Kinsler (33), and V-Mart (36). Average team age means nothing – Royals had Ibanez, Frasor, Chen, Downs, and Willingham all thrown in there to bump their age up. While their core was built around Perez, Hosmer, Gordon, Cain, and Ventura (with Gordon being the oldest of those guys – at 30 – and 3 of the other 4 being under 25).
I think the central next season will come down to how both Detroit and KC play against the White Sox. Haven’t seen moves yet on the south side this off season…but I look for the Sox to make serious improvement.
If they make it to the playoffs or world series and don’t win a game, does it really matter?
Do the Moneyball As matter?
Did the Red Sox matter for 86 years?
Did Ken Griffey Jr. or Ted Williams matter?
I hope they do win. But, if they don’t, I would answer all of above questions with a “yes”.
It’s not 50/50. It’s almost definitely more favorably going to be Shields. Oh, and Detroit owes Verlander 140 MM through 2019, not 100 MM. Oh, and Shields’ contract at five years is probably a bad deal too. It’s a bad deal at 5/100, he’s currently better than Verlander, and JV is owed 40% more than that over the same time frame. YIKES. Also, no. Verlander is nothing compared to Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels. Both have had remarkably similar careers to Verlander except Hamels is still an ace and Lee has very little commitment remaining on his contract now that his performance has deteriorated. One year and 37.5 MM guaranteed or 2/52.5 is a heck of a lot different than 5/140. Also, I’m willing to bet there’s more dead money currently in Cabrera’s contract than in Rollins/Utley/Howard/Ruiz/Byrd’s remaining deals combined. Cabrera is simply not going to be good past 2020, latest, and he’s under contract for abhorrent sums through 2023, with options for 2024 and 2025. There was simply no need to extend Cabrera last year, and guarantee him nearly 250 MM from 2016 to 2023. Right now, Cabrera would be lucky to see 150 MM next offseason if things don’t drastically improve.
FACTS:
1. Verlander could have sat out the entire year after core surgery which wiped out his normal offseason weight training (a very reasonable rationale for his MPH dropped off). Instead he played hurt in 2014 and ended up with a fWAR of 3.3 and a FIP of 3.74.
2. “It’s almost definitely … going to be Shields” 2014 fWAR was 3.7 and his FIP 3.59. Shields was barely better than Verlander when Verlander was injured and Shields was at his peak.
3. Meanwhile Cabrera also had core surgery last offseason and played with a hairline fracture at the end of the year. The doctors were shocked that he could tolerate the pain. He still managed a 5.4 fWAR and played so well the first 4 months at 1st that he was a Gold Glove Finalist. In 2023, Cabrera will be 40…. it is not unreasonable that he will finish the contract in full health as a DH.
Wasn’t Miggy the AL Player of the Month in Sept.2014?
Please don’t start believing MLB’s lists of finalists for each award. Miggy was average at 1B.
1. Insurance is a risky process to count on. You shouldn’t be counting on insurance the day you sign the guy to a contract.
2. You have no idea what a 40 year old V mart looks like. I would suspect it’s highly unlikely he has close to as good of a season as he did this past year. Players don’t peak at 36… If V mart is half as valuable as he was this year than I would be amazed. Ryan Howard was a monster when he signed his deal and look how he turned up. You can’t just completely discount the fact that players age differently.
3. Yes cabrera is a monster, but we’re already starting to see a SLIGHT decline.
4. Verlander hasn’t been typical Verlander for two seasons now and I’m not sure we’re ever going to see the dominant version again.
This is a team that is trending in the wrong direction right now. They still have gaps all over their lineup and bullpen. The recent theme right now is to improving from the bottom up by adding depth (see the orioles, cardinals, and royals). The Tigers are addressing smaller needs that likely won’t benefit them for the long haul.
Don’t compare apples and oranges. V Mart is a pure hitter, Big Poppy and Howard are not.
I don’t think one thing has anything to do with the other. Players perform worse as they age. VMart is (in all likelihood) not the exception. They need at least two outfielders, a back of the rotation arm, bullpen help, and they might even need a shortstop depending on how much they trust Iglesias.
He’s a great hitter, don’t get me wrong, but with all the wholes this team still has, the 17 mllion he’s getting per season could have been allocated more efficiently.
You are going to improve the team by eliminating the guy who finished second in the MVP voting over a contract that is barely over the qualifying offer?
You just added another huge huge hole. Who is going to fill that?
1. So I should not buy a car then? What is wrong with getting insurance in case of injury? Advanced insurance policies enable teams to hedge their bets with big contracts.
2. Howard is nothing like VMART. VMART is the best pure hitter in the game right now, at age 35. There was never a time when Howard was close to getting more HRs than WALKs. VMART came close.
3. Cabrera had two injuries that he was recovering from. He had core surgery in the offseason and he was playing with a hairline fracture the last 6 weeks of the season. He has had a few injuries over the past 2 years, but it could be just part of the game.
4. Verlander is a question make, but he still managed to put up a 3+ WAR last year. Let’s see what happens in 2015.
Who cares what a 40 year old VMart looks like? He won’t be under contract then. Let’s not exagerate.
The “recent theme” wasn’t the “in thing” until it worked. I’m sure if what DD does with his roster ends up working, we will see teams try to copy them. Not all teams, just the ones that like to copy what others are doing.
I disagree with the “0% chance” that he will turn into Ryan Howard. Both are bad baserunners who don’t contribute on the field. Thus, the big difference is their hitting ability. Big Papi is 38 right now, his stats have started to go down, as you can see the decline in average and OBP. VMart will be a former catcher that will be two years older than a declining Big Papi. I think this is a very poorly done deal on the Tiger’s part.
V Mart is a pure hitter and Big Poppy is not. He will out perform his career averages (306/.373.475) the next 4 years and produce a WAR higher than his pay.
“Pure” hitter in what sense? Their career averages are 0.021 apart, which really isn’t that huge a difference, while Big Papi has 0.008 higher OBP. Not a big difference in hitting ability really.
Do you really think that any player (outside the steroid era) will out perform their career averages during their age 38-40 seasons? I can’t think of any.
Strong move, now if they could just spend a bit of time on that pesky bullpen issue of theirs.
I’m not completely against this move considering how anemic offense is around the league, but the Tigers definitely overspent here. 4 years of Vmart at 17mill per year isn’t going to fix the outfield, or bullpen.
It’s hard to count on a similar season from Martinez, Rajai Davis was exposed by playing so much, and they still have a need for left field. I think that 17 could have been spent better if it were spread around multiple positions.
This is a “sum is greater than its parts” move. Miggy will have better pitches to hit, making the offense stronger. With the QO at $15.3mill (1.2mill increase from last year), I can see his $17 mill being below the QO in year 3 and 4 but he will perform at a level deserving a QO.
Exactly, this team needs a lot more than one DH. If Martinez alone takes up 17 million, then they’re dangerously close to already pushing over their budget (while likely losing Scherzer as well). They’ve been to the playoffs, but if they want to win a ring this deal will evaporate more flexibility than people realize.
This is a horrible contract !
Why? Give a reason.
Signing Martinez also kept him off potentially a couple of AL Central rosters.
This likely means they won’t go after Scherzer again and if they re-sign Torii Hunter for $14M, then they will need to shed some payroll by signing and trading – Avila, Porcello and/or Sanchez to keep payroll close to same as last year. If they don’t sign Hunter, they can sit pat and look to beef of BP and Outfield with some low level (under $5M) signings and probably keep payroll around same or slightly higher than last year.
The tigers closed the door on signing Scherzer the second they acquired David Price.
That’s only true if they were to extend Price. He seems likely to test free agency considering how young he is. I’m guessing they only have the money to sign one long-term. If Scherzer’s 2015 salary under a new contract can fit into the budget and they don’t feel they can extend Price, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a late run at Max. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them just simply go after Price in free agency next summer to avoid paying Scherzer’s mid-late 30s.
Extension or no extension the Tigers would still have to raise their 2015 payroll by 25MM+ dollars to accommodate Price and Scherzer.
I think trading for David Price meant that Scherzer was out the door. At the press conference DD stated that they informed Torii that they will no longer pursue him, as they will not be able to offer him market value. As he can no longer cover ground in the OF, and disappeared in the playoffs both years, its time to find another option. Michael Saunders would be a nice lefty bat for the lineup, but I don’t see how they match up with Seattle. I wonder if Alex Avila would interest them?
As a Tiger fan i am very happy they re-signed V-Mart, My only concern is the 4 years. Kind of risky for a guy that’s going to be 36.
4 yrs $68M. Glad to have him back, but that contract seems too rich IMO. I do think the article is wrong in regards to Miggy, he had some injuries, but not showing signs of age like they think. Injuries are part of baseball, and Miggy is pretty good in the field and goes out there and plays better than most even when hurt. That said, not sure that will be true in 4 years. Key will be making sure Miggy gets a rest every now and then. Victor can play 20-30 games in the field if needed, so he probably should. Miggy also should get a handful of days off during the season, no more 162 games. But ultimately it is not my money and as long as it does not keep us from getting the bullpen help we need, then great.
If you think about it , a QO is $15.3mill and V Mart is one of the top 3 hitters in the game. A 13% premium over the QO in this tough market for hitting seems fair. He may lose power in year 3-4, but could easily hit his career averages ( .306/.373.475) or better each year. For you stat people, I believe he will WAR out at better than his pay.
Very well stated!
A QO is a one-year deal. It’s 13% premium on one-year price with a 400% premium on term. For a 36 year old former catcher with an injury history.
If you like the deal, great. But don’t gloss over significant details.
this will be a bad deal in a year.
Nothing like paying a 40 year old $17 million when the time comes. Even David Ortiz doesn’t make that money with the Red Sox and he’s been a power hitting DH for years.
Ortiz actually does make that money
… and VMART will be 39 when his contract ends.
Good on the Tigers for getting the player they had to have, even if the contract bites them in a couple of years. If only the Red Sox would be so bold with Lester…
Once again Seattle you had one job wat are u gonna do now use all your money on HANLEY RAMIREZ
And where will Seattle hide him on the diamond?
Next up….Tigers sign Melky Cabrera, 5 yrs/$70M…..
Cabrera, Cabrera, Martinez, Martinez, do they dare??!!
Might as well sign Asdrubal too.
So what does this mean for scherzer now since vmart has been locked up
It’s a bad contract, but you have to bear in mind that Mike Ilitch could care less about that. He wants to win the World Series before he dies, and his best chance to do that is to keep the current roster together. If they look like the current Phillies in five years, well, he’ll be 90 and he might not be around to see that. And even if he is, if the Tigers won the World Series in 2015 or 2016 because he overpaid for V-Mart’s last few good years, he won’t care anyway.
Even with Kinsler and a surprise stud outfielder Tigers barely won division. Verlander’s done, if they don’t sign Scherzer or Lester forget about playoffs with the bullpen they have.
Tiger won the AL Central 4 straight times with a sub-par bullpen. They were 13-6 v. the Royals this year. Winning the Central really is not an issue for them. It is winning the World Series.
This should address the bullpen need.
Hopefully Victor will age well. This will be just the first of many contracts signed by Free Agents, which will look bad by the end of the deal. At least this one is for only 4 years. Can’t wait to see how bad the contracts for Lester, Scherzer, Shields, and Hanley Ramirez look.
How did the Royals get to within one game of winning the world series? Defense, speed, and a shut down bullpen. Everything the Tigers are not.
You forgot the two most important factors: Luck and getting hot at the right time.
The Tigers were 13-6 v. the Royals last year.
Guess the Tigers never get hot or lucky being 1-8 in world series since 2006. Tigers are a regular season team.
If they are a “regular season team”, why are they 1-8 in the World Series? They had to win 7 games to get to the World Series, no? They should be 0-0 in the World Series if they are a regular season team.
Sure, when they were younger. They have a shot at winning a division crown…again. That will be their highlight in 2015.
And with the money tied up with the guys not getting any younger the Tigers are really gambling that they win it all this season I think.
If you couldn’t win it with Jim Leyland, your not gonna win it. The Royals were the only other team in the division last year, that’ll change in 2015. White Sox looking to land Kipnis
The Indians weren’t slouches either.
Kipnis is fresh news to me…where did you come upon that?
Heck wish the Sox would jettison Ventura and get Gardenhire, that would likely be the best move the Sox could have done to improve this club. Next up is not overpaying for a LF and instead loading up the bullpen and getting a closer who can close. I just have no faith that Ventura can lead this team. Heck I would take Renteria over Ventura at this point.
Whoa, 17 million annually for 4-years. I’m not too sure this will turn out to be a good contract. The fact is, V-mart had a career year and would most likely regress back closer to his career averages anyway. Considering he’s aging as well, and is primarily a DH, I think this contract might be a year too many or about a million a year too much.
If he is batting .250 and only hits 10-15 homers three years from now I’m guessing people will be saying overpaid by more than 1 million. The Tigers are basically paying him 68 mil for 2 seasons. And hoping that he keeps killing the ball, and they win a WS in those 2 seasons, but unless you name is Stanton or Abreu (ie younger players with more ceiling) you are not worth that kind of money.
I don’t have a problem with the total amount, but if I were Dombrowski I would’ve at least tried to frontload the contract. I wouldn’t want to pay $17M to a 39-year-old DH .
somewhere David Ortiz is thinking son of a …
He’ll just complain every day until he’s extended, again.
Or take a bat to a phone……….
Delighted.
Getting better with age (defying the usual Baseball laws), sweet swinging Victor is back where he belongs, providing the best one-two punch in Baseball with Miggy.
It was always going to take four years to sign him and the dollars amount is fine, the MLB leader in OPS has more than earned it.
Welcome back Vic!
Love these people drinking the happy juice here. Even if he manages to hit .300 and 25-30 homers and drive in 100 this season he
STILL is not worth the money thrown at him. The Tigers are likely paying
this guy 68 mil for 1-2 seasons where he may still be performing well. I think history has shown that players do not get better with age. Diminished bat speed, lack of being able to perform everyday, nagging injuries that become more debilitating as you get older, and slower too meaning more GIDP. and he, and another guy getting older in Cabrera are the guys you are counting on to keep hitting like this? The Tigers are likely well overpaying for a guy that could be hitting .250 either this season or the next. They are gambling and they better hope they still have their lucky streak going.
Its win now or never still. They were gonna sign him whatever it took. He SHOULD be the MVP this year. Why would you not sign him back if he is so vital?
Bat speed does not improve with age. The guy has also been riddled with injuries in the recent past as well. AND he is getting MORE money after 2 seasons. I would say Cabrera is more vital than VMART, and he had a down year, which if that is now the rule, the Tigers have really gambled a lot here. More than I think people understand, but will if VMart is hitting 250 with 10 homers by mid-season. Even if he has a good year, and even if Cabrera has a good year, and Verlander turns back the clock, and Price pitches better than he did last season with the Tigers ,you still have a team that will not likely get to the WS. Unless the Tigers pull off some other Miracle, like get Lester or something.
Keep on locking up your core and you’ll end up like the Phillies with old players that are hard to move. Tigers will eventually hit a wall.
In 2016….
The only core players locked up past age 35 are VMart and Cabrera, and VMart will be retired when Miggy hits 36. The Phillies have 6 guys 36 or older next season. Plus two guys 35.
Where do these crazy comparisons come from? On the one hand obscure trivial stats are quoted on this sight. On the other hand even the most basic research is missing before opinions are offered.
The comparison actually should be about the money tied up into 3 guys. You are paying three guys on the Tigers like they are 6-9 players . Also, these guys are doing nothing but getting older. Who else do the Tigers have that are hitting as well as these guys have hit?
Verlander and Cabrera had off years last season (better hope that is not a trend). Scherzer is likely gone, and VMart is not getting younger. Bat speed does not improve with age unless you have chemical assistance. So all of this money tied up into a team that really does not have much after these guys. These guys have been there all of this time, and no WS title. Getting older, paid a ton…Starting to look like the Orioles of the late 90s.Tigers better hope they somehow win it all next season, otherwise they are in for some pain salary wise for the next 4 seasons
Put the age, running speed, lack of WS, etc. aside for a second.
Right now Tigers have 2 of the top pure 5 hitters in baseball. Each can hit to all fields, can foul of pitches at will and have no problem hitting with two strikes. They each put on a clinic every single time they come to bat.
There is little doubt why the Tigers have the #1 Ratings Share in all of the MLB in my mind.
It seems all of Michigan stops what they are doing for the 5-8 minute stretch when Miggy and VMART are hitting back to back four times every single night.
Tigers and Baseball fans should enjoy the next four years regardless of the bullpen, the playoff agony, etc.
This may not happen again for the next 50+ years after that. Not just for the Tigers…. for ANY team.
You do not pay all of these guys money like this to get people to watch a
game for 8 at bats, you pay it to win a WS, and considering all of the
weapons the Tigers have had the past 6 years and no WS, what makes you
think they will get it now?
Bat speed does not improve with age, unless you are juicing.
So I guess people have a lot of hoping in Detroit. Hoping Verlander is not too tired out with partying with Upton to actually get back to the pitcher he was a few seasons ago. Hoping that Scherzer re-signs, or they happen to find another 20 game winner somewhere, hoping that VMart does not get hurt, or see his skill diminish rapidly (or gets hurt) in 1-2 seasons, and, most importantly, hoping that Cabrera’s dip in average and power was an anomaly and not the rule now. I think people have seen it with Pujols. When the average and power goes, it is never the same. Are these guys going to be good enough even this year? Pray it is something special and not turning into the Orioles of the late 90’s
Great move by Detroit!
I think so from an opponent standpoint. This will be more likely to hamstring the Tigers than help them in as players do not get better with age. Ask yourself this. The Tigers pretty much had everything going for them last season, aside from a subpar season from Verlander and Cabrera, and made the playoffs, and were knocked out. So what makes people think that throwing this load of cash at VMART is going to really help the Tigers?
I think the Tigers better pray that Verlander is not in a downhill spiral, Cabrera’s lack of bat was an anomaly and not the rule now, and they find another Scherzer (unless by some miracle they have enough to resign him) otherwise you have a LOT of guaranteed money into guys under performing and getting older.
I was hoping the rangers would make a run at him but the money and years he got are ridiculous
Ridiculous contract. It is more likely that he hits a wall performance wise in about 1-2 seasons, or gets minor dent/dings that cause him to miss time in the lineup -even as DH, than lives up to this enormous contract.
Now anything is possible (as Torii Hunter apparently found the fountain of youth with the Tigers) and I get that. However, I think history shows how players perform after 35, and it is against the Tigers here.
What boggles my mind is you throw this kind of money at a guy who will have one foot into retirement in about 2 seasons and apparently will not keep Scherzer who has been your best pitcher. I guess they are hoping Verlander turns back the clock as well. The Tigers are a lucky team so maybe this works out, but this smacks of what the Orioles did in the late 90’s: Keep all the old guys, pay them a ton, and watch the team disintegrate slowly.
Unless they are hoping he retires in two season, which may render the contract null and void? If that is the case then why not offer him that obnoxious salary if he cannot collect? If it is guaranteed though, it makes no sense and I have a feeling Tigers will regret it and all the fans saying ‘great signing’ will be asking why VMart is getting 16-18 mil to sit around and hit .200-.250 in about 1-2 years.