December 8: The club has announced the signing, as relayed by Kurtz. Martin will make a $720K salary and $180K signing bonus, with $100K in incentives also available.
December 4: The NC Dinos are working on completing a deal with outfielder Jason Martin, according to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO. This will be Martin’s first stint overseas after 10 seasons in affiliated North American baseball.
Martin, a former eight-round draft pick for the Astros, was traded to the Pirates as part of the 2018 Gerrit Cole trade that included Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz, and Colin Moran. He made his major league debut during the 2019 season, getting into 20 games (40 plate appearances) with a weak .250/.325/.306 line, and would spend much of the season in Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit a much more respectable .260/.312/.419 with 25 doubles.
Martin was hitless in 11 plate appearances during 2020, before he was outrighted off Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster at the end of the season. He latched on with Texas on a minor league deal, eventually joining the major league team. Once again, despite promising results in Triple-A (.248/.388/.543), Martin struggled against major league pitching, hitting .208/.248/.354 in 154 plate appearances. Martin elected free agency after the 2021 season, joining the Dodgers on a minor league contract, but did not see time with the major league club during the 2022 season. He finished the 2022 season slashing a strong .285/.374/.564 with 32 homers and 25 doubles in 129 games.
Martin, who turned 27 in September, will head abroad looking to shake the Quad-A moniker that he has cultivated over the past few seasons. He will likely earn a raise compared to his minor league salary and can explore a return to MLB if his time in South Korea proves fruitful.
Might as well take the better pay day.
Looking back at that Gerrit Cole return…woof!
Gerrit Cole wasn’t exactly highly sought after when the trade was made.
It wasn’t all that terrible. They got over 325 innings out of Musgrove. Over 100 innings in relief from Feliz and 44 HR’s out of Colin Moran. Granted none are still with the organization but as far as Pirates trades go they’ve done worse
Not to mention they got 5 other players, including David Bednar, for Musgrove in that three way trade with the Padres and Mets. No telling how the others will turn out yet but they’re still benefiting from the Cole trade with Bednar on the team and he’s a decently valuable trade chip himself.
Another lost Pirates piece.
Who are the Pirates going to sign with all the foreign competition?
It must be a sh!tty feeling for guys like Martin to have a great offensive year in AAA but not called up to the majors.
Especially playing for a team that gave Trayce Thompson over 200 PA’s this past season
Dodgers called up Trayce because they needed a RHB and it was a really smart move based on Trayce’s performance. Gallo and Bellinger blocked the LHB Martin from getting more playing time in LA.
Or he’s un-coachable and a head case for the club house. I don’t know the guy personally, but with stats like that, even the Dodgers would’ve been able to use him in ‘22 or even invite to spring training for ‘23. Maybe he’s a Puig?
This is 100% not true. I got to know him this year in OKC. He is a great guy, his teammates all really seemed to like him and every interaction he had with fans was great! I figured he would get an opportunity somewhere else, but was really hoping that he would come back for another year here. Good luck Jason!
Thanks for sharing! You just never know with some of these guys. Glad to hear there are still ball players who love the sport enough to interact with the fans. Wish him the best in Korea!
Better Dino-might than Dino-sour,
Everybody get on the floor,
Everybody do the dinosaur.
What i do know is, the K.B.O. cheerleaders have been blowing up my you tube ! With good reason too, they are cute. That’s what American baseball needs !
Agreed. American Baseball needs way more cute Korean chicks
American baseball does a great job of finding them for the between innings banter talk on TV. If their out there, the camera guys will find them.
How much does a Korean Cheerleading Squad cost these days anyway?
https://z-p3.www.instagram.com/p/CN83W8Knvp-/
How the eff did you find my GF’s IG page Manny?!?!??? No DM’ing her!!
Writing was on the wall with Martin. He will no doubt Gwen take his last season AAA dodger stats and do the same in the KBO. Still only 26, same age as Bellinger. Wonder if he would of hit any better
Hope he saurs with the Dino’s!
Crazy how he was once the future OF for the Pirates and now playing in KBO. He’s a great guy, just can’t put the barrel to the ball at the major league level. When he got a hold of the ball (few and far between), he’d hit it nearly out of PNC Park with ease. Due to the lack of consistency on his part, Pirates tried (and still trying) to find an alternative with better results.
Pirates becoming a farm team for foreign baseball leagues.