In his latest piece for ESPN.com, Jerry Crasnick examines how vital a piece of the Pirates’ success Russell Martin has become. While his two-year, $17MM deal was initially viewed as an overpay by some after a so-so season in New York, he’s become an indispensable asset. Said GM Neal Huntington: “Russ has put us in a position where we got crushed when we brought him in, and if we let him go out the door, we’re gonna get crushed again.” As Crasnick notes, the Rangers, Rockies, Tigers, Dodgers, Cubs and White Sox could all be players in a thin crop of free agent catchers this offseason. Martin spoke to Crasnick as well, explaining that given the proximity to the end of the season, it simply makes sense to see what his options are in free agency. He did profess a love of playing in Pittsburgh, although Pirates fans may be troubled to hear that a more aggressive approach in Spring Training could have helped to retain their backstop: “If there would have been something done in spring training, it would have been a different story,” Martin told Crasnick. I agree with Crasnick’s take that a contract between Carlos Ruiz’s three-year, $26.5MM contract and Miguel Montero’s five-year, $65MM deal seems attainable. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently noted that a $50MM figure seems plausible.
Here’s more from the game’s Central divisions…
- MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon opines that the Reds should shut down Joey Votto for the season rather than rush him back for the final week or so of a non-contending season. Even if Votto appeared to be 100 percent, he would still risk re-injury, while the focus should be on making sure he’s fully healthy for 2015, when the team will desperately need him.
- Jason Kipnis tells Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he pressed too hard early in the season as he tried to live up to the expectations set by his contract extension with the Indians. However, he does feel that this is something he can learn from: “I can change,” said Kipnis. “I can come to the realization that I have that in my back pocket and just go out and enjoy myself and play the game.”
- Following the trade of Gordon Beckham to the Angels, second base has become a position of flux for the White Sox, writes MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Top prospect Micah Johnson has been shut down for the year due to an injury, but he’ll be firmly in the mix with Carlos Sanchez and Marcus Semien, both of whom are getting looks over the season’s final month. Manager Robin Ventura offered high praise for what he’s seen of Sanchez thus far, calling him a smart player and saying that it’s easy to see why the organization was so high on him.
- Twins pitching prospect Lewis Thorpe has been diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left arm, Mike Beradino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes. It’s been a rough year for Minnesota prospects, as Miguel Sano had Tommy John surgery, Byron Buxton missed much of the year with wrist and concussion issues, and Alex Meyer experiencing shoulder discomfort in his final start of the season. The Australian-born Thorpe has soared up Twins prospect rankings since signing, and Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the game’s No. 101 prospect prior to the season. He posted a 3.52 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 71 2/3 innings as an 18-year-old at Class A. As Berardino notes in a followup piece, Thorpe isn’t expected to need Tommy John surgery and will rehab in the fall instructional league.
I say give Martin 4 years, $48 million right now and don’t even argue about it.
I have a feeling a few teams wouldn’t mind offering that to him though.
Prediction: Sox called up first and have been playing Sanchez more to showcase in a deal with Danks, which is probably the only way that he can be moved at this point. This makes the competition come down to Johnson and Semien in spring training.
Who would want Danks even if you did get Sanchez? Sanchez has average upside at best, and Danks is making 16 million and not even pitching at a major league level? The yanks are the only team who might be willing to pay that much but even that is a stretch
Yeah I was thinking maybe a team light on infield depth that would be able to absorb Danks for 2 seasons. Sox could kick in a few mill too.
I agree. Sox have deep compititation at second. Micah is the third highest rated prospect and Carlos Sanchez is sixth. Add Semien. It may not be Sanchez being showcased. It could be Semien. After watching the potential Carlos has, I almost wonder if thoughts of moving Micah to the outfield have crossed their minds. Adding Sanchez or Semien to a package involving Johnny Danks would have to make it enticing for someone.
Personally, I don’t want to see an outfield consists of both Eaton and Johnson as they seem like they would both be similar. I would like them to acquire a power hitter (Tomas?) to play left.
Do you like Wilkins or Viciedo at DH then?
I think Dayan will be dealt.
I too think Tank gets moved
Viciedo, Semien and a young minor league pitching prospect (Beck or Mitchell) for Samardjizija?
No way A’s make that trade
Then we do without Samardjizija. They can get 3 players 25 and under who can play prominent roles in Oakland for years to come. I think that is a fair offer. That’s cool. We still would have righties like Beck, Mitchell, Montas, Danish, Johnson and Adams. Then Jeff can tip his hat out the door at the end of next season. No way he stays in Oakland.
If they go with a run producer in the outfield, it will have to be a lefty bat. Someone who also can play solid defense. They would need a left handed bat at dh/1b as well. I would hope that could be Wilkins. Not much in the free agent dh department from the left outside of V-Mart or Morales. For outfield I don’t know if I’d want Melky Cabrera or Colby Rasmus. I’m looking at Carlos Gonzalez in a trade or Nick Markakis. On second thought, you are right. Micah would have to be at second and batting second. He and Eaton would cause havoc for opposing pitchers.
Martin’s approach to free agency sounds familiar to LA fans.
He was non-tendered by the Dodgers I thought, or are you talking about someone else?
Yup, he was non-tendered by the Dodgers. I believe he had a hip injury and they wanted him to split time at first base. I think they just didn’t want to roll the dice that he could still catch full time. I’d love to see him back in Dodger Blue
It was a fracture. It wasn’t clear if he would ever play baseball again at any position.
We was non-tendered, at which point he became a free agent, at which point he was made an offer by the Dodgers that was nearly identical to the one he took with the Yankees. It was pretty clear that he was peeved by being non-tendered, even though it was far from clear that he’d be able to recover from the injury.
Or he went to place where he could build his value back up, IE: going to a hitter friendly division where he could showcase his power and hopefully get a good contract in the future.
Around here we got the idea he felt unappreciated. Maybe that was true maybe not, but it sounds like he might be saying that in Pittsburgh now.
Martin proves my theory that agents give players a Mad Lib that looks something like this prior to signing any contracts:
It has been great playing for [city of current team] and I would love to stay a [team name]. [Any of “It’s a great clubhouse atmosphere”, “I love the city”, or “The fans here are great.” ]. However, I just want to see what other offers are out there and explore free agency. [Make a statement about how retroactively discussing a contract would have made a difference.]
Sanchez has looked solid and is hitting .282 during his month plus in the bigs. Being a switch hitter is a big plus and he can turn a nice DP as well. The Sox need stability there and Carlos has, thus far, done well for such a young player.
Two weeks. He came up to stay August 22nd when Beckham was traded. That day he had 3 hits at Yankee stadium. Outside of his walk total and his inability to stay away from low and inside breaking pitches, he has been impressive. Solid glove, great speed, nice instincts.
Right. I guess it just seems longer. He’s not the glove that Beckham is but he sure makes a lot better contact with the bat then Gordo did. It’ll be fun to see what Micah Johnson can do in ST next year.
Micah could be a game changer. He should be fun to watch.
I have a hard time seeing the Cubs being involved in the free agent Catching market. Yeah, Wellington isn’t an all star catcher, but he’s also not terrible either. It sounds too like they’re really going to try to have kyle schwarber stick at catcher. I just have a hard time seeing major league catchers being the priority when its catchers throughout the farm system they should be looking for.
The Cubs should get Lester in Free Agency
Don’t see the Tigers as a target for free agent catchers next year…not sure where that info comes from. Expect an Avila/McCann platoon.
The Dodgers should have kept Martin to begin with. AJ Ellis just ain’t cutting it. So I would say go after Martin the Dodger could make it happen.
Martin got an offer from the Dodgers but decided to go elsewhere. Granted Ellis hasn’t hit much this season, but he still cuts it in the ways that matter most at his position.
I agree he has, but the Dodgers still need to up grade the catcher position.
I’m not so sure. Catchers are often undervalued. If Kershaw wins three Cy Youngs in a row, it will also be a tribute to Ellis, one of the most prepared catchers in the game. He is Kershaw’s left brain. I also would not assume that one poor year at the plate is necessarily a trend. How soon we forget that Martin put up quite a few seasons of feeble offensive output.
I disagree We need a catcher that is good on offense as well. You need to improve no matter what position it is. The Dodgers have the backing and players for a trade if it makes sense.
Not sure what you are disagreeing with. Of course improvement is always the goal, but you can’t call all changes an improvement if you don’t consider what you are losing.
Am not a AJ Ellis supporter never have been. If he was on another team he would have sent down or released.
Sorry, I don’t understand where you are coming from.
Semien does not strike me as a guy with the tools to stay up at the major league level, (earlier broken finger aside) at least with the White Sox, while he has had some clutch hits he has not done much to say ‘yeah, he belongs’ IMO. Sanchez looks like the real deal (Yeah i know only been a few weeks since his call up but he hit fairly well in the Spring if my memory serves me right), then you still have Micah and see what he can do. Plus if Sanchez can hit successfully from both sides, the Sox will find a place for him in the lineup. It probably should be wherever he feels comfortable though, do not try to force him to OF if it is going to affect his approach at the plate
But if Sanchez still produces and Johnson performs like they guess he will, you will see a log jam that Semien is not going to get past, unless he becomes a utility player.