OCT. 1: Pirates owner Bob Nutting has now also voiced a willingness to stretch the payroll to retain Martin, writes Sawchik’s colleague Rob Biertempfel. He quotes Nutting:
“As we’ve made priorities, we’ve found opportunities to stretch. He’s an example of a player we’re going to need to do what we can. We’re going to need to stretch. We’re probably going to go beyond what a rational deal is. He’s a player who we love and respect and we hope he’s back.”
SEPT. 24: While the Pirates have previously had a philosophy of not allocating more than 18 percent of the team’s payroll to one player, the team is rethinking that strategy in anticipation of Russell Martin’s free agency, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. General manager Neal Huntington tells Sawchik that the Pirates are prepared to “stretch beyond our normal comfort zone” in order to retain their standout catcher.
Martin’s potential departure from the Pirates has become an increasingly large story, particularly in the Pittsburgh media, given Martin’s dynamic impact on the game and importance to the Pirates’ success. Martin is enjoying a career year at the plate, as he entered play Wednesday with a brilliant .294/.405/.437 batting line. Martin is one of just four players in the Majors with at least 400 plate appearances and an OBP north of .400 (the others being Jose Bautista, Victor Martinez and Martin’s teammate, Andrew McCutchen). Beyond that, he’s regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in the game; he’s caught 39 percent of opposing base-stealers and rates as one of baseball’s best catchers in terms of pitch-framing via both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.com.
The 18 percent benchmark was a factor last offseason in determining whether or not the team could retain A.J. Burnett last offseason, Sawchik notes, and it stems from a study to which Huntington contributed when working with the Indians. The study found that no team that has committed 18 percent of its payroll to a single player had won a World Series. That study was done a decade ago, however, and Huntington conceded that it could be outdated.
The Pirates do maintain that they can only pay for a player’s future performance, rather than their past merits, and Martin will be 32 in February. Huntington said that Martin’s offensive performance has even exceeded the Pirates’ highest expectations, and the GM acknowledged that other clubs may be able to one-up the Pirates in the end: “There are other clubs in other markets don’t have to worry about the extra years, or the extra two or four or six million dollars to get a deal done. … That’s the realities of the market and the market size. It’s not the first time we’ve faced, and it is not the last time we will face it.”
Nonetheless, while Huntington has previously noted that the team would “do everything it can” to keep Martin, this is the likely the most encouraging report for Pirates fans to date, as it’s the first that the team has publicly stated a willingness to stretch payroll. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently speculated (on Twitter) on the possibility of Martin topping $50MM. While I personally thought that was aggressive at first, it does seem like an increasingly likely possibility.
They will have to stretch that payroll if they want to keep him. Still I don’t think Martin can stay with the Bucs if he wants to take the largest contract. Plenty of teams can offer more money and need a catcher.
I’m sorry the Pirates got eliminated tonight.
Really hope the Pirates can find a way to keep Martin. With so much talent under contract the next few years, he really puts that team in a great position to win. The NL Central is going to be a really tough division the next few years.
It seems as though this is a must do move for the Pirates. Martin has become a key piece of the lineup and clubhouse, keeping him is much more important then whatever they can spend that money on. The pirates don’t need to go out and spend on starting pitching, they will find guys to fill the necessary roles in the meantime and have in house options that should work for the long haul. Without Martin they are a far less effective team, one of those guys who is worth so much more than the numbers he puts up
I agree Martin’s hugely important, but they’ll need to spend on pitching. With Morton and Taillon out to start the year and with Volquez and Liriano hitting free agency, their first half rotation might be something like:
Cole
Worley
Locke
Cumpton
Kingham
That ain’t gonna cut it. I could see them going after another high-upside reclamation project like Brandon McCarthy, although he might have pitched himself to a good contract with his second half.
Obviously they are going to say that. Martin is as good as gone
Agreed. A rubber band will ultimately snap when stretched too far.
The replacement options are very bad. They better hold on to Martin
Opportunity for the Cubs to flex some inner-division muscle. They can really use the defensive, OBP, and clubhouse upgrade. Since Chicago is the only team not eligible for Competitive Balance in the NL Central, they need to be willing to poke holes in other Central teams’ foundations…but otherwise, I hope Martin stays in Pittsburgh
It may not count as much, but Martin was quoted in local (Pittsburgh) media as saying his two years with the Pirates were his most fun years as a ball player.
I said around the break like them to pay him 10-12 for 2 years with a 3rd year option +incentives. Looking at the options and how Russell played with the team and fans.. I wouldn’t be apposed to 12-15 for 4 with a 5th option But I also think anyone paying that much is desperate (pirates are desperate for mlb ready full time catcher)
Reasoning… he should be considered for the gold glove this year, if it wasn’t for injury and Posey he would be in the running for silver slugger this year. If someone comes up through the system and plays catcher well enough for full time or backup even, Martin can play some third to save the knees filling in for injuries or other days off. He is one of the best catchers in baseball. Anyone playing with him will get better.