Carlos Martinez, Cardinals Agree to New Contract: Latest Details and Reaction

Carlos Martinez and the St. Louis Cardinals appeared to be headed for an arbitration hearing, but that meeting won't be necessary after the two sides reportedly agreed on a new long-term deal Wednesday.

According to FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman, Martinez and the Cardinals agreed to terms on a five-year, $51 million deal. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch confirmed the news. Langosch added the deal has a pair of options that could make it a seven-year deal rather than just a five-year one.

"We see him as an emerging star," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told reporters Thursday.

Heyman reported Thursday that Martinez could earn up to $85.5 million and that the money is evenly distributed from 2018 to 2021 at $11.5 million. Heyman added Martinez received a $4.5 million bonus. 

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported Martinez has two options in the deal, a $17 million option for 2022 and $18 million in 2023.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported a fresh pact between Martinez and the Cardinals "will buy out Martinez's three arbitration years and two years of free agency." According to Rosenthal, Martinez had initially requested $4.25 million, while the Cardinals countered with an offer of $3.9 million.

Heyman noted the $51 million deal is a record for an arbitration-eligible pitcher.

"I would say that even though we had the hearing (scheduled), that was not our goal," Mozeliak told reporters of arbitration.

The move can be chalked up as a big win for the Cardinals, who have seen Martinez emerge as a legitimate ace over the past two seasons.

The 25-year-old went 14-7 with a 3.01 ERA and a career-high 2.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2015, earning an All-Star nod in the process. He followed that up by going 16-9 with a 3.04 ERA in 2016:

As those numbers indicate, Martinez has the stuff to evolve into the centerpiece of the Cardinals rotation, assuming he embraces a focused and aggressive mindset.

"He's a No. 1 pitcher's mindset away from being a No. 1," Cardinals pitching coach Derek Lilliquist said last August, per ESPN.com's Mark Saxon. "He's got everything to go with being that guy. It's just going to be up to him being able, mentally, to stay in that place every time."

Manager Mike Matheny echoed that sentiment, per Saxon:

"

He wants to be great and he has every tool necessary to be great. I just want to help him get out of his own way sometimes, and that's going to be a consistent challenge. Maybe that's something you could say about all of us. It just seems like when you have such amazing talent like him, it seems a little more obvious.

"

"I think I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity," Martinez told reporters.

Martinez has made a name for himself behind a fastball that's clocked in at an average of 95.8 mph, per FanGraphs, but his improved slider and changeup have elevated his arsenal to another level.

If Martinez makes another leap forward in 2017 as he continues to hone his stellar repertoire, the Cardinals should be primed for a return to the postseason following a 2016 campaign that ended in disappointing fashion.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.