Do not expect the Detroit Tigers to reunite with J.D. Martinez

Detroit Tigers reunion with J.D. Martinez seems unlikely.

The Detroit Tigers off-season has been busy. Even though the Tigers have not come out and made any major moves to grab the top free agents, they have made a couple of trades and a few moves to get their roster in order ahead of 2024. While the Tigers were content with making some minimal moves as they looked to make some strides and continue working toward the future.

However, the Detroit Tigers were recently reported to be interested in a reunion with an old friend. Mark Feinsand noted that the Tigers were believed to have some interest in J.D. Martinez. Feinsand seemingly jumped the gun with this report, and this was all smoke and mirrors or grasping at straws.

The Tigers are unlikely to be in on Martinez for a couple of reasons, and one of the Tigers' beat writers came out and cleared things up. In a Detroit Free Press subscriber piece, Tigers beat reporter Evan Petzold noted that Martinez and the Tigers had actually yet to be in communication on any deals.

The more you think about the situation, the more it seems unlikely that the Tigers would make a move to bring in Martinez, even with the club having a history with the six-time all-star. The 36-year-old outfielder turned designated hitter spent the 2023 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers after five years with the Boston Red Sox.

Martinez is getting up there in age and is essentially doomed to be the team's designated hitter only, wherever he ends up. He has played under 50 games in the outfield combined over the last four seasons. Even with Martinez being an all-star once again in 2023, slashing .271/.321/.572 with 27 doubles, two triples, and 33 home runs. He drove in 103 runs and was a solid piece of the Dodgers offense.

But Martinez is going to cost a pretty penny. While cost itself is something Scott Harris is likely factoring in, Martinez would also be in a tough spot as a DH for Detroit. The team already has Kerry Carpenter, whose bat they want in the lineup. So, if the Tigers even were to grab Martinez, it would create a logjam for the team to work around.

The financials stand out, as the Tigers have made it clear that they want to keep the spending minimal and coast through the 2024 season. The team is not spending big, and they would have to pay a bigger number than I'd expect Christopher Ilitch to shell out for the Tigers to reunite with Martinez.

While the reports from Feinsand were seemingly incorrect, there are more reasons to speculate why the Tigers would avoid this reunion than even consider it in the first place.