Detroit Tigers: Three Potential J.D. Martinez Trades

Detroit Tigers fans may not be seeing the same high-salary team for much longer. Here are three J.D. Martinez deals Detroit could make while staying competitive.

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila recently spoke with the media about the Tigers and the offseason. Per a tweet from MLive’s Evan Woodbery, Avila was quoted as saying “Changes are coming.”

Additionally, MLB.com’s Jason Beck summed up Avila’s meeting with the media in a tweet, writing, “Tigers GM Al Avila just finished end-of-season media session. Overall message: Tigers have to get younger, likely thru trades.”

Another note from Avila’s time speaking with the media regarded outfielder J.D. Martinez. The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky tweeted, “Avila said at this point there were no plans to negotiate long-term extension for J.D. Martinez before 2017 season.”

It remains to be seen if Martinez will be traded, but if the Tigers are looking to get younger and shed salary, the outfielder would be a prime candidate to be moved.

Detroit may have trouble moving Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander’s contracts, while Victor Martinez is another player that could be difficult to deal.

Additionally, per Spotrac, Justin Upton has an annual no-trade list that consists of 20 teams. The same website notes that Jordan Zimmermann has a full no-trade clause through the 2018 season.

Of the remaining veterans, J.D. Martinez and Ian Kinsler are likely the most valuable. Going on that, Martinez is the more tradeable of the two given that he’s only 29 years old.

Here are three trade packages the Detroit Tigers could receive in a trade for Martinez, whose contract expires after the 2017 campaign.