J.D. Martinez isn’t leaving Detroit anytime soon…
The 28-year-old Cuban American outfielder and the Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $18.5 million pending a physical, according to ESPN.com.
The new contract, which will pay the MLB All-Star player $6.75 million in 2016 and $11.75 million in 2017, allows Martinez and the Tigers to avoid salary arbitration, which was slated to take place later this month.
When the two sides exchanged salary figures the past month, they found themselves with a significant gap to bridge, with Martinez’s camp reportedly submitting an annual average value of $8 million and the team an AAV of $6 million. The deal reached Monday evening comes in with an AAV of $9.25 million.
Martinez becomes the fourth and final arbitration-eligible player to reach a deal with Detroit this offseason. The Tigers also signed Justin Wilson, Jose Iglesias and Andrew Romine.
Martinez, who won the Silver Slugger Award in 2015, is coming off a sensational 2015 season in which he led the team with 38 home runs and batted .282. Martinez finished the season with 102 RBIs, 93 runs, 168 hits, 33 doubles and two triples.