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Email a copy of 'Free Agent Stock Watch: Russell Martin' to a friend
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bucsws2014
The Pirates can afford to pay Martin. Whether they will or not remains to be seen. But they certainly have the payroll flexibiity to do so. It’s not like they’re going to be signing any other major FA this offseason (or any season). They have cost controlled guys all over the place and will continue to have their core OF and pitching around for a few more years.
After having Ryan Doumit, Rod Barajas, Chris Snyder and Michael McKenry behind the plate for much of his early tenure with the Bucs, certainly Neal should appreciate the value Martin brings. Just keep your mouth zipped, Neal, and pay the man.
Nathan Boley
I don’t think it’s up to Neal whether he wants to pay him, if you get what I’m saying.
bucsws2014
I don’t think that’s an excuse next year. It’s on record Nutting would go to $90 mill this year (when they were after Price and others). There’s no way the Bucs payroll gets near $90 mill next year unless they’re dropping some serious cash on Martin. They’ve got a ton coming off the books and besides some manageable arb raises, there’s no need for a big FA signing, save for Martin (assuming Pedro moves to 1b).
Nathan Boley
My guess is they’ll let Martin walk and try to resign one of Liriano or Volquez. Sanchez will take over catcher, as has been preordained. The infield will stay the same, with Pedro moving to first and JHay taking over third. The rotation will likely be Cole, Morton, one of Volquez/Liriano, Worley, Locke. I don’t see many additions this winter.
todd Rainey
KIngham will probably be the annual june callup so they wont have someone pricey blocking him or Taillon.
Brian Lynch
I’d sure like to see him back with the Dodgers.
vtadave
Me too as long as he’s cleaned up his partying ways off the field.
BlueSkyLA
Not so much. We already have an excellent pitch handler in AJ Ellis. Maybe if he was prepared to take a backup role, but we know that isn’t going to happen.
vtadave
AJ is a great guy who handles the staff well, but he can’t hit a lick.
BlueSkyLA
If you listen to what the pitchers say, AJ handles them more than just well. Martin has gone through some long runs of feeble hitting too, and if you compare their career lines they are more similar than you might expect. This is where a pitching focused team opts for stability over taking a flier on someone who might have another good year or two in him.
Portland Micro-Brewers
The Dodgers are going to address the catcher position during this off-season. They have too much invested in this team to carry 3 catchers hitting under .200 and an OPS+ under 65 leading into October. They may over look Ellis’ season of below average offense if it wasn’t attached to a season with below average defense and CS%. Martin leads the league in base runners thrown out and is considered one of the better pitch framers. They don’t have any catching prospects in the upper minors that will be MLB ready in the next two years. The top catching prospect in the organization is 18 year old Julian Leon in rookie ball. If Ellis doesn’t rebound the Dodgers will be in a tough spot. It might not be too smart to bank on a 33 year old catcher rebounding during his age 34 or 35 seasons. I don’t see the Dodgers being adverse to paying Ellis these next two arb years to game plan and coach the staff from the bench. He could be a very valuable backup catcher.
BlueSkyLA
People who analyze this way I think aren’t so clear on what makes a catcher valuable to a team. Kershaw considers Ellis to be a vital part of his game. He is an instinctual pitcher who likes to talk about his feel for the ball on any given day rather than pitch selection and location. Ellis is Kershaw’s left brain. He is all about preparation. Beckett’s also gives him huge credit for reviving his career, and when Corriea came over he learned right away that he’d be spending a lot more prep time with his catcher than he did on his other teams. No stat line reveals any of this, but it’s important just the same. Do the Dodgers need more depth at the position? Absolutely. But I think behind Ellis at this point, not in front of him.
Encarnacion's Parrot
But does he want to sign as a shortstop?
arthur3
There will be a near riot in Pittsburgh if Russell Martin is allowed to leave. There is not a viable catching option in their minor league system- Tony Sanchez, the heir apparent , is a major disappointment. The fanbase is legitimately baffled by the unwillingness of ownership and management to invest in their team- especially when looking at the offseason and trade deadline inactivity. The small market excuse can only go so far. Figure out a way to sign him, Huntingdon! He is probably the Pirates 2014 MVP.
Trav G
Sanchez hasn’t really even gotten a chance at the ML level. Don’t get me wrong, Martin is one of my favorite Pirates and I’d love to see him resigned, but I’m not sure he is worth 13-14mil a season past next year. Do we remember the Kendall contract? Small market or not, it’s not wise to overpay someone based on past endeavors. Personally, I’d rather spend the money on signing Lirano at this point (the 2013 version).
arthur3
Tony Sanchez’s 2014 AAA batting average is teetering around the .220 level, and he is throwing out potential base stealers at a clearly unacceptable rate of 12% (7 of 58 caught stealing). This would represent a significant downgrade over Russell Martin, not even taking into account the fact of his inability to frame pitches/ handle pitching staff. Oh yeah, Jason Kendall was traded for a ML starting pitcher and reliever (trade was just ok for Pirates, but budget conscious Oakland readily accepted the salary).
connfyoozed .
There is nothing at all to suggest that Tony Sanchez is or will be anything more than minor-league depth at this point. If the Pirates want to continue to contend for the next couple of years, they almost have to sign Martin. He’s that important.
KermitJagger
I think Diaz is now the next in line and is still probably two years away from being the “the man” (currently at AA).
KermitJagger
The Pirates need to be willing to go well beyond their comfort level to sign Martin. Either pony up the cash for Russ or plan on spending more money on the rotation. The Pirates will have far less success with the reclamation projects and bargain bin pickups without Martin around to call games and frame pitches.
todd Rainey
3/30 with a option would be about right, he is having a career year ba wise and you dont pay for declining years and cheerleaders
Naqamel
Don’t be surprised if in the offseason the Pirates acquire Alex Avila from Detroit.
James McCann is tearing it up in Toledo, and will likely be ready to take the reins next year.
krinks
Having been a Pirates fan for decades I know that the very notion of the Pirates as a winning team didn’t begin until they brought Russell Martin on board. Prior to this anyone with a walker could steal a base at will. This led to the pitchers being overly distracted by men on base, knowing that every walk or single might as well have been a triple. A catcher that can handle a staff the way Martin does is worth top dollar.
Big Giant Head
You are absolutely right. Martin has improved that team in so many ways.
joew
20 mil for two with a vesting option for three. Should enough time to know if Reese or other talent is up to take over. I didn’t like Russell’s contact when he was signed but he was a huge part of the bucs turn around… boy was I wrong. ..
joew
2 seconds after I posted that he his a home run
Mark Gus
I agree with you, whole-heatedly. The Pirates should and HAVE to sign Martin in the offseason. There is no way around it. Tony Sanchez is not an option. He has looked horrible behind the plate. I like your notation: 20 mil/2 years with a vesting option for a third. That sounds perfect for me. I would not mind having Russ the highest paid player on the team. Huntington & Nutting HAVE to get this done.
yarritsblake
I can honestly say that the Dodgers desperately need a catcher. Since Martin left here are the numbers:
Martin (2011-2014): 12.1 WAR
Dodgers Catchers (2011-2014): 7.5 WAR with 6.3 coming from AJ Ellis
In my opinion the Dodgers have the money to spend, and might as well fill the weakest part of their field with a familiar face. The Dodger faithful will gladly welcome Martin back! Ellis isn’t exactly making pennies at $3.6 million this season, and Martin is making $8.5 million. Their respective WARs are -0.2 and 3.3 this year. You don’t need to have a PhD to see what is clearly in front of you.
Sam Uel.
Even though I like AJ, I’d like to see Russell back in LA.
Scott 24
I’d go 3 years/$36 million. $14/12/10 million per year breakdown. If he doesn’t take it, Pirates might have to let him walk.
If Tony Sanchez starts living up to his potential, then Martin becomes a nice trade piece, although I don’t see it happening. The Pirates need Martin until Diaz/McGuire can take over.
Ron Loreski
If Sanchez lives up to his potential, he is the one that becomes a trade piece. If the Pirates want to win a World Series, they need Russell Martin.
Lee Foo Young
I think we will QO him. Odds are pretty good, imho, that some team will still sign him and we can get a comp pick. And, if we don’t $15 mil, albeit it being an overpay, will not ‘kill us’.
I had no problem with us NOT QO’ing AJ and I don’t think the two are comparable.
The Pirates could see that AJ was trending down and wasn’t worth the $$$$ (as his stint in Philly has proven). He was barely worth the $8 mil they offered him. Heck, Volquez has been a better value.
In fact, I think they could QO both Russ and Liriano. I have a feeling that there are clubs out there that will sign both and we then get picks.
Grant 2
Can’t help thinking if the Pirates are going to give an ‘uncomfortable’ deal, this is where to do it. The guy makes a dozen other guys on the team better, and there isn’t anyone comparable ready in the system or available elsewhere at the moment.
BrynGilkey
It’s blind speculation what the Pirates can afford to pay any one player. MLB teams don’t have to make public their books and non do.
I would like to see Martin return. But, he is 31 and catchers don’t get better with age. They get injured more and hit less as they get older. OTOH, I would take the diminishing returns of Martin over the mediocrity of Sanchez or whatever else the Buccos rescued from the dumpster (Barajas I’m talking to you).
Ideally Martin is signed for 3 years giving Reese McGuire time to prove himself MLB worthy.
James Madorma
Check out the new TV contract the owner’s are getting mega$$$ and I don’t care if Martin costs 40M/3yrs, they have to sign him. Someone mentioned signing Avila: we have been stealing bases on him like crazy this series. PAY MARTIN THE MONEY!!!
Benjamin Markham
Will the Pirates miss another chance to QO a player? I get the Pirates would be very iffy about a 3-4 year deal, but they should be willing to keep Martin around one more year at $14-$15 million. They shy away from guaranteeing too much long term money but they keep their window open. I don’t know what else NH would do with that money, but Martin is a part of the Pirates core and if they lose him that is a significant hit considering where they are on the win curve. Right now they are borderline contenders, but losing him makes them too close to a .500 team to be viewed as contenders.
Uatu The Watcher
NYY letting Martin walk was criminal negligence. Though I think I heard that was ownership allocating those dollars towards ichiro over the baseball ops braintrust who wanted to keep Martin
Portland Micro-Brewers
Every move that doesn’t pan out for the Yanks is blamed on ownership overriding Cashman and co. Part of Cashman’s job is convincing the owners to follow his vision and professional expertise. The yankees have the most overrated front office in baseball as far as I’m concerned. They have a multiple time champ GM, a celebrated stat department, some of the games better scouts, and a front office with execs (Levine, Eppler and Oppenheimer) that seem primed to take over GM jobs. None of these guys did a well enough job of explaining to ownership that they were undervaluing Martin and the yankees saw him play everyday.
Saucey Neal Huntington
I think you beat any offer in AAV but don’t go past 3 years.
Grebek7
White Sox should pickup AJ, so he can show Ty Flowers where his seat is on the bench. 2 seasons ago I watched a player that was about 5’8″ 150 lbs bowl Flowers over and knock ball free at home turned out to be the winning run. Flowers is 6’4″ 270. So Flowers was thrilled with this new awful Homeplate rule. Hope Joe Torre & Leyland switch that rule back ASAP.