Anthony Fenech

Detroit Free Press

LAKELAND, Fla. -- On the other side of the construction-lined walkway that separates Joker Marchant Stadium and the back fields in Tiger Town, nearly drowned out by the sounds of machinery and the beeping of life-sized Tonka trucks, there was a smack. And another. And another.

On this sunny, 70-degree morning, Victor Martinez was in the shade. He was in the batting cages, hitting, sweating and smiling.

“Yeah, I can tell the difference,” he said. “Yeah, I can tell the difference,” he said again.

“It’s way different than last year, for sure,” Martinez said. “What is the difference? I can swing now. That’s the difference.”

The Detroit Tigers’ heartbeat arrived at spring training this morning, and along with him came first baseman Miguel Cabrera, leftfielder Justin Upton, centerfielder Cameron Maybin and others, nearly completing the arrival of this year’s roster.

It's a team that Martinez thinks can be the best in his five years in Detroit. “I’m excited for this team, for sure,” Martinez said.

Adding Upton was big, he said. But bigger, he thinks, were the additions to the bullpen, namely the big three of closer Francisco Rodriguez, setup man Mark Lowe and left-hander Justin Wilson.

“It’s no secret,” Martinez said. “Everybody knows that. They did a great job.”

But, the veteran designated hitter cautioned in his next breath, “you don’t win games on paper. We gotta go out there and play the game. Nothing’s given. Nothing’s given in this game. We gotta go out there and play but we’re definitely looking pretty sharp.”

And Martinez, coming off “the worst year of my career,” is feeling equally sharp.

After left knee soreness limited him to a .245 average and 11 home runs and 64 RBIs in 2015, the off-season rest the Tigers had hoped would heal him apparently has.

“I started swinging pretty early this year,” he said. “I felt like Superman.”

He smiled throughout the 10-minute conversation with reporters, joked about wishing that he could feel like he was in his mid-20s again and about getting his body ready to play wherever manager Brad Ausmus needs him to.

“I might go to the outfield, too, for a little bit,” Martinez said. “You never know.”

Martinez, 37, is a career .302 hitter in 13 seasons. He is one year removed from a runner-up finish for American League Most Valuable Player in 2014 and is still chasing the elusive World Series ring he signed with the Tigers to win.

He will be the team’s everyday designated hitter and hit cleanup behind Cabrera.

“There was no excuse,” he said about last season, which saw him healthy for about a two-week period after he first returned from a month on the disabled list. “I tried, I played, whatever. But it is what it is. I had a bad year in my career. But you know what’s the great thing about it? It’s over.”

How badly was he hurting in 2015? “There was no secret," he said.

And how much better is he feeling a year later, after a full off-season of rest?

“Way better. Than last year? Way better,” he said. “Let’s talk about this year. It’s 2016, right? 2015 is over. Brand new year.”

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.