Detroit — The Houston Astros had a difficult decision to make in the spring of 2014. For three years they waited patiently for J.D. Martinez to blossom into the power hitter his strength and skill-set projected him to be.
But after three years he was out of minor league options and he’d produced only 24 home runs in 252 big-league games. And with top right-field prospect George Springer knocking at the big-league door, the Astros released Martinez on March 22.
A month or so later he would be the Tigers’ everyday right fielder, hitting 23 home runs in 123 games that first year.