Good deal for everyone
Jays showed Justin Smoak a little faith, he showed a lot more
It was one year ago this past Sunday, in the Blue Jays’ first series after the all-star break, when the club announced first baseman Justin Smoak had agreed to a two-year extension, guaranteeing him $8.5 million combined for 2017 and 2018, with a club option for 2019. There were those that questioned the move from the team’s standpoint. Now Smoak is an allstar.
And if he were a free agent-to-be, his current numbers would be gold. He entered Tuesday leading Blue Jays regulars in hits (91), homers (24), RBIs (58), slugging percentage (.571) and OPS (.933). Regrets?
“You can’t predict the future,” Smoak said on the anniversary of the deal. “Honestly, where I was at that point in time, I really wasn’t playing that much. When they came to me, we worked something out.
“I feel like to get a two-year deal (when) I wasn’t really playing at all, really — I was in and out, in and out — it was a great deal at the time and I still think it was a great deal. Like I said, you can’t predict the future and I’m glad to be here.”
The Jays were criticized at the time for rewarding a bench player with only one skill, playing defence, but with Edwin Encarnacion’s departure and Kendrys Morales’s defensive deficiencies, it would likely have been Steve Pearce at first base on most days if Smoak had been allowed to walk as a free agent.
When the 2016 negotiations began a month earlier, Smoak had been playing almost every day. But when the deal was announced, he was mired in a slump and on the bench most nights. Smoak is now the Jays’ 11th highest-paid player.
For some players, financial security for their family is important, and it helps them to relax and maximize their talent. Baseball is a game of relaxation and focus. For Smoak, the contract helped both of those.
“That always helps,” he said. “It allows you to just go out there and play baseball. I feel like that’s what it really allowed me to do.”
Smoak was considered a can’t-miss prospect in 2008, when he was drafted 11th overall from South Carolina. It was a pretty good year for first basemen with Eric Hosmer (third) and Yonder Alonso (seventh) selected ahead of him.
KANSAS CITY, MO.— J.D. Martinez had been the subject of trade speculation for weeks, and it reached such a crescendo Monday night that even his mom texted to ask if Detroit’s star outfielder had been dealt when he left a game in Kansas City with a sore back. Turns out she was only off by a day. The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Martinez for a trio of prospects on Tuesday, hoping to solidify a trouble spot in the outfield with a sorely needed right-handed bat for a run at the playoffs.
“I don’t think he was surprised,” Tigers general manager Al Avila said. “I think he was hoping it didn’t happen, quite frankly. I didn’t want it to happen. I wanted to be out here in first place. I think it was hard for him because, like he said, this is his home. This is where he became J.D. Martinez.”
Martinez, who is making $11.75 million this year and can become a free agent after the season, acknowledged he would likely be traded with the Tigers sliding from contention. The 29-year-old former all-star is hitting .305 with 16 homers and 39 RBIs, making him one of the premier right-handed bats on the market.
“You knew it was going to happen. You don’t really know how you’re going to feel. It doesn’t hit you until they tell you,” Martinez said.
“It’s definitely tough. I love this organization. I love the fans. I love everything in Detroit. That’s home for me. I’ve always said that.”
But as the Diamondbacks try to hold down the top spot in the NL wild-card race, their desire to make a playoff push led them to Martinez, who happens to provide exactly what they needed.
“We’re excited to add a middle-ofthe-order corner outfielder to our lineup,” said Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen, adding that he might not be done dealing ahead of the July 31 deadline.
Avila also said more trades are possible.
Tigers closer Justin Wilson has been drawing plenty of attention, and the club is hoping to shed payroll as it begins to rebuild.
The return from Arizona included Double-A infielder Dawel Lugo, a former Blue Jays farmhand who is regarded as the Diamondbacks’ No. 8 prospect by Baseball America. The Tigers also received switch-hitting infield prospect Sergio Alcantara, currently in Class-A ball, and rookie league shortstop Jose King.
Martinez spent three middling seasons in Houston before signing as a free agent with Detroit, where he became one of the top power hitters in the game.
He hit 38 homers and drove in 102 runs in 2015 and hit 22 homers in120 games last season.
More important for Arizona has been his success against left-handed pitching. The Diamondbacks are next-to-last in the majors with a .213 average against lefties.
“It’s going to be weird — a new clubhouse, new players,” Martinez said.
“They’ve got a great team over there. They’ve been good for a reason. I’m just hoping to go over there and hop on their train and just do what I can to help them keep doing what they’ve been doing.”
The trade was nearly completed Monday night, when Martinez left late in the Tigers’ game against the Kansas City Royals. At nearly the same time, top Nationals prospect Victor Robles was removed from his game at Class-A Potomac, sending social media ablaze amid speculation that those two teams agreed to a trade.
Martinez wound up having a sore back. Robles was pulled for a baserunning blunder.
But those details only came to light after Martinez was inundated with text messages from friends and family — “Mom texted,” he said with a slight smile — asking where he had been traded.