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Just In: Former Tigers slugger signs one year deal.
Former Detroit Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez has signed a one-year deal with the New York Mets less than a week before the start of the regular season.
Martinez was one of several high-profile players lingering on the market deep into spring training.
Martinez will be paid $12 million, the New York Post reported. Most of the money will be deferred.
Martinez played for the Tigers from 2014-2017, hitting 99 home runs and posting a .912 OPS in 458 games.
The Tigers traded him to the Diamondbacks in July of 2017 and he signed a free-agent deal with the Boston Red Sox following that season. After hitting free agency again, Martinez signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It turned out to be a phenomenal signing for the Dodgers. Martinez hit 33 homers and drove in 103 runs in just 479 plate appearances. He had an .893 OPS (134 OPS+).
But Martinez is now 36 and played only three games (12 innings) in the outfield in 2023. That lack of versatility limited his appeal on the free-agent market.
The Tigers had a vacancy at designated hitter after the retirement of Miguel Cabrera but have opted to fill the spot with a variety of players rather than one slugger. At least initially, Kerry Carpenter could see the bulk of the at-bats at DH in 2024.
