J.D. Martinez Is The Man And Should Be Paid Accordingly [BLOG]
By: Brian Chapman
@bchapsports
On Friday night in the bottom of fourth inning the Tigers had a man on second base and one out in a 1-1 game against the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers were coming off of a loss and an off day and were in danger of stranding yet another runner in scoring position. The Indians were within striking distance of the Tigers and Royals in the standings and had a man by the name of Carlos Carrasco on the mound. A man who had allowed just three runs in his previous six starts.
Fortunately for the Tigers, J.D. Martinez was at the plate and he continued his assault of Indians pitching this year with a 2-run blast to left centerfield to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. It was the Tigers first lead of the game and a lead that they would not squander thanks to great pitching and a four-run burst in the seventh inning. Half of those runs scored on 2-run triple off the bat of J.D. Martinez.
After the game, Indians manager Terry Francona said J.D. Martinez has, "been a huge find for them. He started in Triple-A and now he's hitting fifth for them. It makes getting through Victor and Miggy that much tougher." J.D. Martinez's teammate Victor Martinez said, "He's been great for the team. It's great to have a guy like J.D. being hot." But J.D. Martinez has been more than great and hot. He's been outstanding and reliable.
Following Monday night's win, Martinez is hitting .310 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI. Martinez has also been clutch. In the big series last week against divisional opponents, Martinez hit three home runs and drove in eight runs. He also has a knack of driving the ball out of the park in the seventh inning or later after his teammates have failed with runners on earlier in the game.
He is not a flash in the pan. He is becoming a household name across the country and he will make his first All-Star appearance in 2015 (write it down.) While he may not have the bat of a healthy Miguel Cabrera or the all-around game of a Mike Trout and likely never will, J.D. Martinez is a budding star in the game and needs to be paid like one.
Now.
This offseason Martinez will be arbitration eligible for the first time and should get a significant raise from what he is making this year after signing a minor league contract. Let's say around $2 million in 2015. Why do that, then play the same game to avoid arbitration for 2016 and 2017, when you can lock him up long term now? I say the Tigers should follow in the footsteps of the Indians with Jason Kipnis and the Angels with Mike trout by paying off all of his arbitration years and going into the first 2-3 years of free agency by handing Martinez a 5 year, $40 million extension this offseason with a team option to make it worth $56 million over six years.
The breakdown would go like this: $3 million for 2015, $5 million for 2016, $8 million for 2017, $11 million for 2018, $13 million for 2019 and a $16 million option for 2020.
Some say wait until he's got another year under his belt to make sure he's not a fluke or a flash in the pain. I think it's silly to wait until after 2015 because I expect him to have another great season in 2015 and when he does, the Tigers won't be able to pay him like a budding/potential star in the game because he won't be one. They'll have to pay him like a proven star in the game.
If you're concerned about the possibility of Martinez turning into a bust and the Tigers stuck underneath another contract that could turn out horrifically (like potentially Verlander's or Cabrera's), that's understandable, but understand that I'm not trying to sell you on a gigantic 9-figure contract or a contract that will take Martinez into his late thirties or early forties. I'm talking about a deal that takes him through age 32 and pays him an average of $8 million per season. If he falls on his face the wealthy Detroit Tigers can easily stomach that.
On the contrary, if the Tigers wait until after 2015 to sign him to a long term deal, 5 years, $53 million (the value from 2016-2020) suddenly becomes 5 years, $70 million. If they wait until his final year of arbitration and Martinez continues to play like he has this year, he could command $70 million over just four years, but would most likely seek a contract paying him at least $20 million per season for six to eight years, ending when he's in his late thirties. Right now that scares me a lot more than the possibility of JD-Mart flopping.
This offseason the Tigers should not settle for offering J.D. Martinez 1-year contract over a steak dinner and moving along. They should give him a whole cow now so they won't have to offer the entire farm down the road.
