Watch CBS News

For Martinez And Avila, Inevitable Conclusion No Easier To Accept

By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid

J.D. Martinez was in the trainer's room in the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, happily handing out bananas to his teammates prior to Tuesday night's game versus the Royals -- "because of the heat," Martinez recalled -- when Brad Ausmus motioned him into his office.

Martinez got a bad feeling. Not the kind of vague, back-of-the-mind concern he's harbored for much of the season, but an immediate sense of dread, a fear brought on by an inescapable fate.

"I got scared," Martinez said, replaying the scene in his mind. "I didn't like it."

Maybe out of denial, maybe out of some deeper survival instinct, Martinez tried tricking himself into thinking the manager wanted an update on his sore back. But he had already discussed that with Ausmus earlier in the day and Ausmus had already penciled him into the lineup for that night's game.

"Then I was like, 'I know what's going on,'" Martinez said.

He walked into the skipper's office and saw GM Al Avila, plus a few other Tigers execs.

"And I said, 'Damn' -- you know?" said Martinez, with a rueful, half-hearted chuckle.

There was no mistaking the situation at that point. Martinez had been traded.

The Tigers shipped the slugger and his expiring contract to the Diamondbacks in exchange for three infield prospects.

It was a moment many months in the making, an almost inevitable conclusion. For Martinez, it began as an inkling, turned into a realization and finally became reality.

"We kind of had a feeling this was coming," said Martinez. "It was on the horizon."

It took shape last November, when Avila made it clear the Tigers wanted to cut payroll and were willing to trade anyone to do so. Martinez, entering the final year of his contract, immediately drew interest. Ensnared in rumors throughout the offseason, he was relieved when nothing came to pass.

"Obviously, you never want to hear that kind of stuff," Martinez said in January, when it was clear he would be returning for the 2017 season. "You never want to be traded, especially on a team like Detroit (where) I find myself at home."

But he knew the saga was far from over. He knew he'd end up right back on the block if the Tigers got off to a slow start. And he wanted to do everything in his power to keep that from happening.

Then, toward the end of spring training, Martinez got hurt.

He missed the first month of the season and the Tigers scuffled without him. They were 17-17 upon his return, and surely things would have looked different had he been healthy from the start. There's a cruel sense of irony to Martinez's misfortune. His fate was yanked from his hands only because it was never fully in his control.

As the season wore on, Martinez grew increasingly wary of the trade deadline. He understood what was at stake and didn't care for the consequences. Late in May, with the Tigers still spinning their ties, he acknowledged the team was working against an accelerated clock.

And, in terms of making a push, he admitted they were running out of time.

"I think it's gotta be done by June or July, really. Probably the beginning of July. Because if not, there's a good chance that there's a couple of us that might not be here," he said.

The push never came. In fact, the opposite ensued. Beginning with a 10-game road trip on May 22 and concluding with a seven-game road trip on June 25, the Tigers went 12-21. Their playoff deficit swelled from two games to 6.5.

It was at that time, after the team had dropped six of seven to the Mariners and Padres, that Martinez's premonition felt prophetic. It was at that time that he knew.

"I would say when we were in San Diego, that road trip. That was a big road trip for us. If we had won there I think it definitely would have changed the whole idea of which way Al wanted to go. I think that really turned the tables to being more sellers. He made it clear that after that, he was opening up the doors," said Martinez.

The rumor mill churned back to life. Martinez did his best to avoid the chatter, turning off the radio and ignoring the latest reports. He trusted Avila would fill him on whatever he needed to know.

For others in his family, it wasn't so easy.

"My mom, I can't even deal with her," Martinez said late last month, smiling and shaking his head. "Oh my gosh, she's the worst thing ever with Google alerts."

She called her son constantly, undone by every rumor. She wanted to know where he was going to end up. He wanted her to relax.

"Stop calling me about this crap," he'd tell her. "I don't wanna hear this, I don't care. When something's for real, Al's gonna come up to me and he's gonna tell me, and I'll let you know. But until then, don't mention any more of this because it doesn't mean anything."

It must have been hard for his mom -- not just the uncertainty, but the idea that her son had been reduced to a pawn, powerless, subject to the whims of others. He's normally in control in this game.

Meanwhile, Avila held out. He gave the Tigers as much slack as he could. He waited and waited, banking on the players' track records, hopeful that a surge was in their bones. It wasn't.

Nevertheless, Martinez was grateful for Avila's patience.

"I wish I could have stayed here, I wish we could have been in first place. I'm glad that he even let it go this long and didn't do it before the season," said Martinez.

The slugger and the GM have an uncommon bond. The former grew up where the latter raised his family -- Pembroke Pines, Fla. Martinez met Avila's son, Alex, when he was six years old. He played for Avila's brother in Little League. His high school, Charles Flanagan High, was right behind Avila's house. Avila often watched him play.

"I look at Al as a father in this game," Martinez said.

"He's as close to family as you can get in baseball."

Martinez also has profound feelings for Detroit, both the city and the organization. The Tigers signed him prior to the 2014 season after he had been released by the Astros and his career was on the ropes. He was 26 years old at the time.

"They were the organization that believed in me when everyone else passed, they were the ones that gave me the opportunity when everyone else didn't," he said.

Now 29, Martinez is considered one of the best hitters in baseball. He's headed for a massive payday in free agency, where many teams will fight for his services. His past would have a hard time believing his future.

"This is where I made my name, is in Detroit," Martinez said. "This is the family that helped me grow."

Saying goodbye was never going to be easy. Taking off the Tigers jersey was never going to be routine. (In fact, Martinez wanted to take it with him.) Preparing for a gut-punch doesn't soften the blow.

"It's definitely hard. It's one of those things where you knew it was gonna happen and you really don't know how you're gonna feel. It doesn't hit you until they tell you. It's definitely tough," Martinez said, a deep sigh punctuating his pain. "I love this team, I love this organization, I love the fans."

It was equally trying for Avila -- maybe even more so.

"It was a very difficult process for me. I talked to J.D. with Brad, and we were crying," he said. "It's very hard because this is not what you plan to do. We all want to win, we want to keep our players. But at this point it is the best thing for our organization."

Martinez grasped that. He's grasped it all along.

And he reassured Avila that nothing will come between them.

"I know it was hard for him, but I told him, 'There's no animosity. I understand the situation you're in, I understand what you have to do. I'm not mad about it,'" said Martinez.

Plus, fate has a funny way of coming full circle.

"There's always next year and the offseason," Martinez said. "You never know what's gonna happen in this crazy game. Maybe our paths will cross again."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.