KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- How disappointed was J.D. Martinez to leave the Detroit Tigers?

In the moments after being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday night, he was already broaching the possibility of coming back to Detroit in a few months when he becomes a free agent. It's a possibility that the Tigers have all but ruled out as they seek to cut costs and get younger.

But it's an indication of the depth of Martinez's love for the Tigers, and his affection for general manager Al Avila, that he did so little to hide his sadness at moving on.

"I look at Al like a father in this game," he said. "But there's always next year and the offseason, and you never know what's going to happen in this crazy game. Maybe our paths will cross again.

"I love Detroit. I'd love to finish my career here. Al's doing what's best for the organization and I respect that."

The Tigers haven't explicitly ruled out Martinez's return, but they've come awfully close. Manager Brad Ausmus called the trade "prudent" precisely because the Tigers would otherwise receive nothing for Martinez when he left in the offseason. The possibility of re-signing him wasn't even mentioned.

The Tigers are trying to pare payroll and are unlikely to take on any big deals this winter. (The $5 million saved this year from dealing Martinez probably didn't hurt, either).

Martinez grew up close friends with the Avilas as part of a baseball-loving Cuban-American family in south Florida. His rise to one of the game's elite hitters started in 2014, Ausmus' first year as a manager.

So when the group gathered in Ausmus' office at Kauffman Stadium to give Martinez the news, it was emotional for all sides.

"He came into his own as a Detroit Tiger," Ausmus said. "He said that it felt like home to him. He arrived here having been released from the Astros, went to the minor leagues, worked his way back and truthfully forced his way into the lineup. From that point on, he's been an All-Star caliber, one of the best right-handed hitting bats in the game. Unfortunately the business of the game and him becoming a free agent made it a tough call, but probably a prudent call in the long run."

Martinez was 26 when he came to the Tigers in March of 2014 and already had about 1,000 plate big-league appearances under his belt. He appeared destined to be one of those players who raked the ball in Double- and Triple-A but could never translate that offense to the major leagues.

"I grew up a lot here," Martinez said. "(I learned) how to handle the game in a more professional manner. When I was in Houston, there were a lot of young guys. I didn't have a lot of older guys to follow and look up to. When I came here, it was the opposite. I was the young guy. I think that definitely helped me grow."

Martinez said he watched how players went about "every at-bat, every pitch. Never giving up on a pitch, never giving up on an at-bat. The way you handle the game, the way you walk on the field, the way you handle media. Just all-around."

Martinez said his teammates pushed him to be better.

"This is where I made my name. In Detroit. This is my family that was here with me to help me grow," he said. "I have a lot of respect to them for being with me and pushing me and always picking me up. I give them a lot of praise and thanks to a lot of guys on this team."

Like Ausmus, Martinez said he regretted that the Tigers couldn't have won more games and forced Avila to keep the team intact.

"I know it was hard for (Avila)," Martinez said. " I told him, 'There's no animosity to it. I know it's hard. But I get it. I understand the situation you're in. I understand what you have to do." Believe me, I'm not mad about it. I wish I could stay here. I wish we would have been in first place. I'm glad that he even let it go this long (instead of doing it) before the season."

Martinez's affection for his teammates was returned Tuesday night, as a line of players formed to say their goodbyes in the tunnel outside the third base dugout.

Asked it was going to be hard to take off the Tigers jersey for the last time, Martinez said he wasn't going to give his back. He didn't sound like he was kidding.

"I think I'm going to take it with me," he said. "Detroit will always have a special place in my heart. It hurts me leaving it. I feel like it really hasn't sunk in yet."