Detroit Tigers Links: Hello again Victor Martinez and goodbye Torii Hunter

After a very eventful week for the Detroit Tigers, and a press conference announcing Victor Martinez‘s new contract, there was not much news breaking over the weekend. This is something that tends to happen during the offseason where the bulk of the movement is during the week.

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Nonetheless we scraped up two articles for our Monday edition of morning links.

First up we take a look at support for the V-Mart contract by Brad Faber.

In the next link we look at something we’ve predicted here a lot at Motor City Bengals–that if V-Mart was brought back, Torii Hunter would not be. Dave Dombrowski sealed that door shut when he said he informed Torii and his agent that the Tigers would not pursue him.

Torii took to Twitter late on Friday to say thanks to the fans.

Torii was a fun guy to have on the Tigers’ roster. He was easy to root for over the years in other team’s uniforms so it was great seeing him in the Old English D for a couple years. He was an All-Star in 2013, but had a so-so year in 2014.

Ultimately with his sharp defensive decline he could not be trusted as an every day outfielder and the DH position is now filled for the next four years. So the Tigers really had no use for Hunter. Had V-Mart signed elsewhere I am certain Torii would have been back as the full-time DH.

Good luck Torii! Thanks for the memories.

Re-signing Victor Martinez Was The Right Call For Detroit Tigers – Brad Faber, Rant Sports

"Therefore, having Martinez back in 2015 should certainly help to balance the Tigers’ lineup. Even if the power he showed in 2014 is unsustainable, as many seem to believe, he can still be counted on to hit for a high batting average and provide a more-than-sturdy bat from both sides of the plate.If Martinez can stay healthy, he will likely join the ranks of players such as Paul Molitor, Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz on the list of players who were able to provide steady offense from the DH position into their late 30s or even early 40s."

Torii Hunter Unlikely To Return To Detroit Tigers – Ed Carroll, FanSided

"The Minnesota Twins, Hunter’s original team, are rumored to have interest if Hunter is willing to be the veteran presence on a growing team, but if Hunter wants to chase a ring, he should probably look for an AL team that needs a designated hitter, because giving him a glove anymore is just scary."