Mets sign slugger JD Martinez with deferred payments through 2038

• Veteran DH signed one-year, $12m contract
• Mets projected to have second-biggest payroll in MLB

JD Martinez has a new home, agreeing to a $12m, one-year contract with the New York Mets on Thursday.

Martinez will receive a $2.5m signing bonus, $2m this year and $7.5m in deferred money, payable in $1.5m installments each 15 January beginning in 2023 and ending in 2038, sources told the Associated Press. The deferred payments will allow the Mets to reduce their luxury-tax hit from the signing. The Mets are projected to have the second-highest payroll in MLB for the second successive season.