Russell Martin has agreed to a one year deal with the Yankees, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. While it is just a one year deal, Martin does have another year of arbitration eligibility left and will therefore remain under Yankee control in 2012 if they tender him a contract. I like this move, and I believe that it is a good first step in the Yankees “Plan B.” They need to fortify the entire roster, get Andy Pettitte to come back, and then address the hole in the starting rotation on their own terms. There is no reason to run out and make a move for a starter in a panic when you are bringing back every key player from a 95 win club.
Some think that this means Jesus Montero will be traded, but I see it more as insurance for the club if Montero struggles out of the gate. He will serve as a placeholder for Jesus much like Bengie Molina was for Buster Posey in 2010. Why Martin? This is what i said when he was first mentioned as a non-tender candidate:
Martin’s career has evaporated over the last two seasons, but he would likely represent an upgrade defensively behind the plate over every catcher that the Yankees have, and he still has some pop in his bat. He could take the Cervelli role in the 3-headed Yankee catching monster while allowing Jesus Montero to ease onto the roster slowly. If the Yankees get lucky, he could revert back to his old self and become an extremely valuable trade chip or allow the Yankees to explore trading some of their catching assets.
Those of you who have been complaining about the Yankees’ defense behind the plate should be excited, as Martin represents a marked improvement over what the club had back there in 2010. If he recovers any of his bat, he will go from being a decent piece to being a valuable asset.
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27 Responses to Yankees Sign Russell Martin
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TIQ IQ
Don’t forget his power his to right field.
I like Russell’s chances of regaining his bat with our batting Coach.
I like it-a good defensive guy who takes his walks. If I were more ambitious (and didn’t have to go out & shovel), I’d check his home/road splits-LA is a pitcher’s park.
I just looked up his last 3 years home/away splits and he was a bit worse on the road. Damn.
Well, most players are better at home than on the road, so it is quite possible, even likely, that he’ll get a boost in a good hitting ballpark.
YS should give Martin a boost. A week and a half ago CAIRO had Martin-the-Dodger as a .329 wOBA player. SG reprojected Martin today as a Yankee and the new baseline is .335.
I don’t think signing Martin necessarily means that Jesus Montero is traded either. However, to be honest, I was hoping that the Yankees would not sign him. Without him, the Yankees could not even think about leaving the catching duties to Cervelli and Posada. I will be losing sleep over this bullsh*t.
You’re really going to lose sleep or are you beer fishing?
No, I will literally lose sleep over this. As a fan, the top two things I wanted for 2011 was 1. Jesus Montero in Yankee pinstripes and 1A. Cliff Lee pitching for the Yanks. With Cliff Lee gone, I’m very concerned that the Yankees will pull the trigger on a player that I don’t like half as much as Montero.
I realize that this is very subjective, but that’s what happens when you get attached to prospects and I am miles beyond that point.
I hear you on number 1 anyway going back to last offseason I caught some flack for not wanting Lee but Montero is definitely someone I want to see in pinstripes for a long time but fortunately the Yanks aren’t going after Greinke and no other player on the market is worth Montero so I don’t think you need to lose sleep.
If I had to guess one way or another, I’d say that he will be in pinstripes in 2011. I just think about the Javy Vazquez trade though. It’s not even close to the same situation or the same caliber of prospects at stake, but I can see the same sort of initial reactions – just scaled up 1000%.
A lot of people were disappointed with the Javy deal, while others were optimistic. If the Yanks (hypothetically) traded a package for a SP like Greinke, the disappointment turns into devastation (for me at least) while the faction of panicking fans will rejoice and step off of the George Washington bridge.
Well as I posted below Cashman spoke to the media today and said he was glad he didn’t trade Montero for Lee during the season and that it would have to be a rare circumstance to trade him now.
Javy was a disaster waiting to happen I don’t think any of us expected him to be that bad but when your velocity falls for 4 straight years and you’ve gone from averaging 92 down to 90 you know it won’t go well.
I know GMs lie and it is part of their job not to tell the media the truth but I believe Cashman when he says he won’t trade Montero unless it’s a “rare circumstance” which to me means Felix or Josh Johnson and I think either one of them would be a deal we probably couldn’t pass up if it was reasonable but neither will happen.
Montero could likely use an extra 200 at-bats in AAA to shake off the offseason rust. That way, he’ll actually have gone through those early motions and be able to hit the ML scene with some in-season success. If Martin is able to post league average offensive numbers for a AL catcher, I think we might see the Yanks seek to lock Martin for a longer tenure. Even then, i think Cashman is simply trying to make room for Montero on this team without having him take on teh mental burden as primary catcher.
If Martin’s hitting form returns and barring a BLOCKBUSTER trade, Montero will be the starting DH in 2012 and occassionally spell Martin here and there.
To add to your point he could also be tendered a contract in 2012 in order to trade him because if he has a good season his value could sky rocket, obviously he was always valued if 3 teams were in on him btut how much more value can he have playing a full season injury free.
good logic
I think the signing means the Yankees will delay his arb clock by waiting until June to call him up.
Once they do that, depending on how Po and Martin do, he will either get split with Martin at C or Posada at DH (think like a platoon thing with Po facing righties and Montero lefties- Joe likes that stuff).
What Reggie C said seems like it is has a high possibility of panning out in reality.
T.O. Chris : If Martin does rebound, i can’t see Cashman trade a 28-year old catcher unless Romine or Murphy or both enjoyed “break-out” seasons. Especially Romine; who’s second half swoons are truly epic. Martin becomes almost an untouchable if he can hit AL-league catching average.
I really dont see Montero ever taking on the catcher job on a full-time basis. The attempts to trade Montero appears to me as a sign the org. considers Montero limited defensively.
Sorry TO Chris, my reply button doesnt function at work.
It’s cool man I’ve been dealing with a phone on here lately so I get posting problems…
I think they were just willing to trade him because they believe that Lee and Halladay were top of the line players they couldn’t get otherwise and I could see Murphy, Sanchez or Romine having a break out year but either way if he brings enough trade value you might as well trade him over giving him a 3 year deal or something.
Cashman has stated that “Plan B is patience” because he feels prices will be going up for trades and he isn’t afraid to wait until the season to make a move.
Cashman also said that the Lee decision had no barring on Pettitte but that “he is feeling the pull of retirement stronger than ever”
Brian also talked about the potential Cliff Lee trade in July and said he’s “grateful the trade didn’t happen” and he added that “it would be a rare situation for me to include Montero in a deal”.
Basically everything we wanted to hear Cashman basically confirmed… Sounds like you can slep well Craig.
Haha, I saw that. That helps some, but we know we can’t take a GM’s words to the bank. Since he’s gained full control of the baseball operations, he’s been a bit stingy with prospects though so maybe we can trust him a bit more in this case.
I think Cashman has shown nothing but the fact we can trust him since getting the control he lack with George.
When would the Boss have let us not made the biggest offer to Lee? Cashman basically said we are the Yankees and this is a great deal take it or leave it we have other plans and I love it, he is taking a stand against paying players whatever, if he had been allowed to handle Alex like he wanted that contract wouldn’t be as bad either.
I think the front office knows how much of a beast Montero is and I think they are probably just as excited to see him in pinstripes as we all are… I know I can’t wait for that first career bomb!
The Yankees have officially signed Mark Prior to a minor league deal… I don’t remember who’s dream this was but it came true and It’s not a bad low risk high reward type of thing, he will be a reliever so maybe we can catch a little lightning in a bottle and actually get something out of his arm.
In Posada’s last two years as catcher he has posted a 2.4 WAR in 451 ABs during the 2010 season and a 3 .7 WAR in 438 ABs during the 09 season these numbers not unreplaceable by Martin and his defense should help him do that, in fact last year he had a cery comparable WAR to Posada in considerably less ABs.
Russell Martin’s 2010 WAR- 2.1 in 387 ABs
Russell Martin’s 2009 WAR- 2.2 in 588 ABs
So we know by these numbers that a 2.1 or so WAR is probably the floor on Martin’s value which puts him in the same location as Posada as a catcher just in reverse but Martin’s upside is cosiderably more and obviosuly why the Yankees are signing him.
Martin’s best two seasons in the big leagues were 2007 and 2008.
Martin’s 2007 WAR- 5.8 in 620 ABs
Martin’s 2008 WAR- 4.6 in 650 ABs
Now I don’t expect Martin to have these kinds of WAR numbers with the Yankees but I think it’s reasonably safe to assume something inbetween 2.2 and 4.6 is quite rachable for Russell and if he ends up with a 2.5 or higher he will be more valuable behind the plate than Jorge was in this year and we made it to the CS.
I think that between him and Jesus, we should be well over what Posada would have given us in WAR in 2011.
I think if Jesus is here by June and Martin gets off to a good start, Posada won’t be the full-time DH. Montero is too good of a hitter to keep on the bench while Po DHs 6 games a week.
You would see Montero DH against most lefties I assume in that scenario since it’s Jorge’s career weaker side of the plate.
First let me say that I am a Mariners fan. (I hope you will not hold that against me). But foremost, I am a MLB fan.
Although I am not a Yankees’ fan I do enjoy your blog as it shows “insight” into what good teams actually think and are doing. I have never posted before. For a simple reason. Although I consider your blog superior, I find the comments section nearly unreadable. I am a little surprised that a serious blog such as this, allows it’s comments section to be hijacked by one single commenter, who is appearently trying to set some sort of indoor record for bizzar comments on the internet. It would seem to me, that this one commenter has little to add to any discussion, and has a dire need to “top” any other comments posted.
I fear that more posters (not Yankee Haters, but serious MLB fans, even if not Yankees’ fans) would be far more comfortable expressing their views here, if it it were not for the comments of one certain poster. On most blogs I frequent in the PNW that have to do with the Mariner’s, we always welcome other fans from other cities, reasoning that it is nice to have a different perspective. I am not certain that the same would be possible here.
In summary, I just wish to state that it is hard to understand why your comments section is not more heavily moderated (or not at all?).
Erick
Thanks for your comment. It is our belief that comments that are not overly vulgar or laced with profanity should not be moderated simply because some might find a person’s argumentative style overbearing. I understand that there is a tradeoff there, and that some will be scared away from expressing their views. Being that we would like to keep this an open forum, it is a tradeoff that we feel is necessary. I hope that those who are afraid to express themselves can get past the idea of potential disagreement and share their thoughts with us anyhow.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear more from you in the future.