St. Louis Cardinals give Jose Martinez some stability

After seeing his name in trade rumors nearly all offseason, Jose Martinez has received some stability from the St. Louis Cardinals.

It seemed inevitable that the St. Louis Cardinals would trade Jose Martinez at some point during this past offseason. While Martinez has a solid bat, he has been a liability defensively, a probable designated hitter stuck on a National League team. The acquisition of Paul Goldschmidt to play first did not help Martinez’ cause, leading to further trade rumors.

However, the Cardinals have given Martinez some stability. According to Jon Heyman, Martinez has inked a two year deal worth $3.25 million plus incentives.

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This is a decent contract for Martinez, who proved to be a late bloomer. He had his first full season in the majors at 28 years old, after having spent time in the White Sox, Braves, and Royals organizations. However, he has been excellent with the bat, which continued last year. Finally given a starting role, Martinez responded with a .305/.364/.457 batting line, hitting a career best 17 homers and 30 doubles.

While the offense has been solid, Martinez has not found a position on the diamond. He has graded out as subpar at first, left, and right throughout his career, although his ability to hit can give him a place in the lineup. Martinez has been relatively passable in right field however, and could be considered the insurance policy if Dexter Fowler struggles once again this season.

It is also probable that this contract would make him even more attractive as a trade target. Not only does Martinez have four years of team control left, but the new deal bought out one of his arbitration years as well. There is a degree of cost certainty as it pertains to Martinez going forward.

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed Jose Martinez to a two year deal after he spent most of the offseason in trade rumors. If nothing else, he now has some level of stability, at least financially, for the next two seasons.