USA Today
Goodbye Russell Martin. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Pirates have agreed to signMartin. Although the catcher had a weak defensive and offensive year, his pitch framing has always been regarded as top-tier.
There are few other options the Yankees have at catcher now, so it’ll be interesting to see what the team does. The Yankees budget may have had something to do with failing to re-sign Martin, but perhaps the team has a better player in sight.
Last week I suggested that the Yankees target Geovany Soto as a possible right handed DH and backup catcher. Though the once rookie of the year’s defense is average, he’s failed to reach his offensive upside over the last few years. Assuming he’s non-tendered by the Rangers, he’s one of the few options aside from the controversial AJ Pierzynski. It’s very unlikely that the team will rely on Austin Romine for the entire season, but they do have some depth with backup caliber catchers.
UPDATE 8:40 PM: The contract is worth 2 years $17 million. The Yankees were said to be in at 2 years $12-$14 million. Very odd that they couldn’t beat the Pirates’ offer.
UPDATE 9:06 PM: The Yankees never made an offer to Martin, and haven’t made sent offers to any position players yet.
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12 Responses to Pirates Reach Agreement With Russell Martin
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TIQ IQ
Well I know a ton of fans don’t like Martin but I think most of them will probably be wishing we had him at one point or another next season. I don’t know where Cashman will go from here but I hope we stay away from Pierzynski, he won’t repeat his career year numbers again and his defense has always been awful. I don’t care about his so called “attitude problems”, I just don’t want a catcher of that age who relies completely on offense signed to multiple years coming off a career year.
I was hoping that they’d resign him given the few other options. It is surprising that either he didn’t give them a chance to beat the Pirates’ offer or that they weren’t willing to match or beat it. I guess him signing with the Pirates is the next best thing so at least the Yankees can trade for him at the deadline.
Don’t know where they turn now. Hopefully not Pierzynski or Napoli. I was trying to think of anyone other than Soto that might get nontendered and couldn’t come up with anyone. Maybe Cashman has something up his sleeve?
I’ve been looking at possible trade candidates and can’t really find any team, who has reason to trade a startingh catcher, with any real match. If he has something up his sleeve it’s completely invisible to me.
I almost wonder if the Yankees simply lost a game of chicken here, thinking Martin would wait as long as they needed him to for them to jump in with an offer. If he did just take the best offer on the table for fear of the Yankees waiting too long, you can’t really blame the guy.
It is ridculous that the Yankees didn’t offer Martin basically a measly $1M raise for 2013 and the same contract. What – they thought Martin would accept only a one-year deal? A two-year deal for what he made in 2012 ($7.5M) per year? They couldn’t do $2M better than 2 years and $15M?
Martin signed away two years of his career with a team who has no legitimate chance at winning the World Series. He showed he is all about his comfort than winning as how could you sign with the Pirates after the Yanks re-signed Kuroda, Pettitte, and Rivera? He’d rather catch A.J. Burnett than C.C. Sabathia?
Bad jobs by the Yankees/Cashman and Martin/his agent.
The Yanks should offer A.J. Pierzynski a year and $8.5M (a $2.5M raise) and see if he takes it. I think he would as no way anyone is giving him more than a year at his age or a cent more than what Martin will make in 2013. I’d look at him as merely Jorge Posada Revisited: a catcher you have more for his bat than his glove. I mean who but an idiot wouldn’t sign up for the 27 HR and 74 RBI he posted for the Chicago White Sox this past season for 2013? I’d be thrilled with 20 HR and 60 RBI from him I think he’s capable of posting better than even at his advanced age.
AJ has never hit 20 HRs before in his entire career, and was coming off a single digit HR season the year before. I highly doubt he hits 20 again in his career given that fact. With that said there is no way he doesn’t get a 2 year deal from some team coming off a career year, teams just can’t help themselves. Now that the Dodgers have made their interest known I wouldn’t be completely shocked if they offered 3 years.
Twins just traded their center fielder. maybe we could send them one for a high-priced catcher/ back-up first baseman.
If the Yankee budget couldn’t fit 17 million over 2 years I highly doubt it can stretch to fit Mauer’s ridiculously bloated contract.
Martin is saying the Yankees told him they didn’t have the money to match 17 million, and Andrew Marchand is saying they aren’t going to go after Napoli or Perzynski. So it may end up being some combination of Romine, Stewart, Cervelli, and maybe Whiteside if he isn’t claimed on waivers.
NY could possibly make a deal for one of Suzuki, Ramos or Flores. Washington also has Leon in the wings, they seem prime candidates to trade one of the above catchers. Suzuki has 1 year remaining on his contract. I think Flores does too.
A mega deal for Santana and Choo ?
great idea on Suzuki!
If they’re going the platoon route Kelly Shoppach might not be a bad signing. He’s decent behind the plate and he hits really well against LHP and to LF, which is always advantages in Yankee Stadium. Stewart could take most of the games against RHP and Shoppach could handle all the games against lefties, plus relieve Stewart in scenarios like a day game after a night game or double headers.
I mourn Russell’s passing, and wager the Yanks felt his previous hip fracture, with the back problem that surfaced mid-season meant one-year contracts were prudent.
I’d be in favor a developing platoons for catching, given the wear of good defensive effort.