Victor Martinez, John Buck and, now, Yorvit Torrealba have agreed to deals with new teams. Here's the latest on the market for backstops:
- The Rockies talked to Torrealba's agent, but only had interest in a one-year deal, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
- The Mets also had interest in Torrealba, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says (on Twitter) that the White Sox would happily bring A.J. Pierzynski back. They didn't offer him arbitration because they didn't want to pay him more than $6.75MM in 2011.
- Matt Colleran, the agent for Russell Martin, told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times that the sides have exchanged ideas about reaching a deal before Thursday's non-tender deadline instead of going to arbitraiton. The Dodgers seem reluctant to give the non-tender candidate a significant raise after a disappointing season that Martin finished on the disabled list. Colleran told MLBTR last week that Martin's late-season hip injury did not damage his labrum.
Young, Torrealba, whose next from SD ..Eckstein?
the rockies have 120 mil to burn for 2015-2020 but they cant even stretch out a deal for their most desperate position. go figure o dowd. nobody is looking for a one year deal at this time of the year. everybody the rockies were interested in are signing elsewhere
I wonder if the White Sox should try to acquire Mike Napoli from the Angels. The White Sox, in 2011, have very little power on their roster…Put defense aside, which AJ really doesn’t excel at, Mike Napoli has a ton more power than AJ. I’m not saying Mike Napoli plays well behind the plate, he doesn’t, but he is pretty much AJ with more power.
Napoli could be your DH spot starter at C, same as AJ spot starter it should work well
Does Napoli or any other catcher have the baseball smarts to “steal” 1st base in a crucial playoff game like AJ?
People always argue about intangibles especially for a catcher. I’m not sure how to value “keeping one’s wits about him” on a large stage, but it does have definite value.
Most certainly, the value is in the eye of the beholder.
I see the point, but overall, Napoli would provide much more than AJ
Wouldn’t be surprised to see AJ back now, but they might end up going young to save money.
Also read on Scott Merkin’s MLBlogs page that the Sox never made Victor Martinez that 3yrs/48MM offer.
because it was for 4 years and was corrected a couple hours after everyone started freaking out on why vmart would pass that up.
According to the blog, no offer was ever officially made.
According to Ignacio Serrano of El Nacional, who broke the story, Martinez turned down a four-year, $48MM offer from the Orioles and a three-year, $48MM contract from the White Sox. MLBTR has learned that the White Sox in fact offered $48MM over four years. Martinez is represented by Octagon.
Sorry but I’m gonna believe the Sox beat writer over some dude in Venezuela.
Quoting the article:
“Victor Martinez never received a contractual offer from the White Sox, as confirmed by a Major League source to MLB.com on Monday.
The White Sox had interest in the switch-hitting catcher/first baseman/designated hitter, who could have provided a needed run-production presence from the left side. But contrary to published reports, the White Sox did not make any sort of $48 million offer over three or four years. Martinez eventually agreed to a four-year deal with Detroit, worth $50 million.”
Didn’t Torrealba and the Mets have some sort of contract dispute a couple of years ago? Or was that someone else?
Bengie Molina
I believe Torrealba signed with the Mets a few years ago but failed a physical so the contract was null and void. As a result, Torrealba went back to Colorado and the Mets later traded for Johnny Estrada.
Yes it was Torrealba
Why on earth do the Mets want a catcher? Does noone trust Josh Thole?
I still think signing AJ for a 2 year contract until a young catcher, preferably not Flowers, can be brought up is the best course for the Sox. AJ is a SMART catcher, can handle our pitchers, is incredibly durable, is a club house leader and is a left-handed bat with a lifetime average of .324. Why bring in an expensive unknown missing those intangibles and start from scratch when we still have a built in solution? I know people love to hate on AJ, but in this FA market, I genuinely think he’s our best option.
absolutely agree
a durable, baseball-smart lefty hitter behind the plate should have a lineup at his door.
unless he’s gotten worse (dont see the WSox much) he was never an outright awful catcher. adequate, with his smarts counter-balancing some deficiencies.
i think it’s the ol’ lingering sense that he’s quirky/difficult/disagreeable/unlikable.
it strikes me as one of those media/web perpetual myths or maybe by old-school baseball types that don’t like dealing with a distinct personality
I AM A HUGE JOSH THOLE GUY . I REALLY BELIEVE HE WILL BE A 290 AVERAGE GUY PLUS WITH 10 TO 13 HOME RUNS A YEAR BUT I STILL DO NOT KNOW IF HE WILL BE READY TO HANDLE A 125GAMES A YEAR AS OF NOW . I PERSONALLY THOUGHT 2012 WOULD FIT HIM BETTER BUT THE METS NEED A VTERAN BEHIND THE PLATE TO PLATOON WITH JOSH. AS MUCH AS I LIKE AND RESPECT HENRY BLANCO , I JUST DON’T FEEL HE IS THE BEST FIT BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HIT ENOUGH OR HE DOESN’T HIT AT ALL. I WOULD OF LOVED THE METS TO BRING BACK ROD BARAJAS BACK ON A 1YEAR DEAL BUT THE DODGERS HEAVILY OVERPAID HIM AT 3.5M 1YR DEAL . I ALSO LIKED JASON VARITEK ON A 1YR DEAL BUT SEEN THE SOX JUST LOCKED HIM UP ON A 1YR 2M DEAL. I WOULD TAKE A GAMBLE ON A RUSSELL MARTIN.