A little less than a year ago, I crowd sourced a possible contract extension for catcher Russell Martin. Obviously, no such extension was offered or signed. Now, though, Martin is a free agent, probably the best free agent catcher on the market. The Yankees have seemed to like Martin in his two years in the Bronx and I’d bet a reunion is a pretty solid possibility.
Now that we’ve had a year of Martin, and up and down one at best and a bad one at worst, what do you think Martin can and will fetch? Use the comments to discuss. As for me, I think Martin will get a three year contract worth somewhere in the 8-10 million dollar range. And that’s just fine with me. Martin isn’t the strongest hitter in the world, but he hits just fine for a catcher and draws plenty of walks and has a good deal of pop. He also plays fine defense and seems to have a good rapport with all the pitchers.
We should note, tough, that the leverage in this situation is most definitely skewed in Martin’s favor. Everyone could use a catcher like Martin and the Yankees are definitely going to be desperate for a catcher. Austin Romine had a completely lost year; Francisco Cervelli isn’t any good and neither are Chris Stewart or Eli Whiteside. Without Jesus Montero in the picture and Gary Sanchez way too far away to even think about MLB in 2013, Martin is the best possible option for the Yankees.
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3 Responses to Russell’s contract
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TIQ IQ
You have got to be kidding. Martin is a long way from being the best free agent out there. I don’t see a lot of action for him. He can’t hit at all. His offense is as bad as any offense can be even with the luck of hitting in a park like Yankee stadium. Just visualize he catching for the Mariners with no protection. I would project a below 200 average with 12 homers at best. Montero on the other hand in yankee stadium would hit a ton of homers and hit for average to boot. He is not worth anywhere close to 8 or 10 million for 3 years. He might get 2 years for less money. I would not sign him for more than a year and I think whiteside might be a better fit especially since Martin’s defense is in regression.
If the Yanks sign Martin, they won’t have to worry about a part-time SS to back-up Jeter.
The irrational hate of Martin from Yankee fans just blows my mind, somehow if the guy doesn’t hit like “The Babe” he sucks and Eli Whiteside is better. At the end of the day he can still hit well for a catcher and he’s one of the better defensive catchers in the AL. I’d be fine with 3 years, 2 years is preferable but I have no problem with 3.