Free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez is waiting for a call to help a team win a World Series, writes Joe Brescia of the New York Times. The 39-year-old says that he could get himself into playing shape rather quickly.
"I’m in shape right now and I’m training and I’m playing catch, so getting to full strength would probably take me a month, month and a half, to be on a mound," said the eight-time All-Star.
Martnez was asked if he would choose the Yankees, BoSox, or Phillies if all three teams called and offered the same salary. The vet said that he would probably choose Boston, so that he could retire and enter the Hall of Fame with the same hat. He would consider the Phillies though as he would like to win a championship in the National League.
The right-hander last pitched in 2009 for the Phillies, posting a 3.63 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in nine starts.
Over the hill. Done.
him over the hill was probably the second best free agent pitcher available outside of cliff lee.
Uh, didn’t the Yankees JUST sign Kevin Millwood & Carlos Silva?
Clearly they could do worse than Pedro Martinez.
Clearly.
Whos your Daddy?
Who’s your Papi?
Haha yeah, like the Phillies want him again. I know he hasn’t been playing, but he still has to know about their rotation right? Pedro Martinez won’t start over Hallday, Lee, or Oswalt…even if it was 35 year old Pedro.
Who do they have if somebody gets hurt? Let’s say blanton gets hurt, who is available out there? I would say the phils would give him some consideration
Who do they have you must be joking, did you ever here of Kyle Kendrick AKA Baby Doc 1.80 ERa. 2011 Vance Worley 1.38 ERa. in 2010. The Phillies are stacked and there Bull pen has been lights out to start the season. Yep its good to be a Phillies fan.
If it’s “good to be a Phillies fan” then why do you all boo so much?
NYC Tim I hope your not a Mets fan talking about booing…..LOL
NYC Tim is hearing the chants of “Raul” or “Chooch” and thinks it’s booing.
A small sample size(out of the pen) and minor league numbers don’t exactly equate to being “stacked”
A small sample size out of the pen.
touche, I will give you this one about our pen its a little early.However if you think the Phillies being 7-2 is some kind of enomaly you have not been watching MLB since 2008….
Minor league numbers don’t exactly equate to being “stacked”
Are you another “joker” LOL…. Roy Halladay,Cliff Lee,Roy Oswalt,Cole Hamels and yes Big Joe Blanton is a very large “Stack, Indeed”
By the way did you here Jimmy Rollins has predicted 116 win for the Phillies. Yep how sweet it is to be a fan of the “Phighten Phillies”……………..
None of those could hold Pedro’s jock in his prime period!
As good as the Phillie pitchers are, this is so absolutely true. Pedro had an WHIP of .969 from age 25 to 33. That’s a closer number that I can’t say I’ve seen by any other starter over even 1/2 the number of years.
Pedro was crazy good.
Too bad Pedro isn’t in his prime
Too bad an over the hill Pedro couldn’t teach the young players, such as Kendrick, how to become better. Wait..
I’m a Sox fan and our rotation is pretty messed up right now but I’m still not sure how I would feel about Pedro coming back to Boston. I guess he could sell tickets and maybe even his 5 innings will be an improvement over Lackey’s 5 innings. Theo would never sign him though so I guess it doesn’t matter.
never count out theo, i am a sox fan and i want him to sign with us, after the way we are playing, and i want him to retire as a sox
last time pedro went through this he only wanted to play in the NL.
yeah i heard he’s still chasing 763
you know who you want after the way lackey and buchholz have pitched? lackey and buchholz
reversion. to. the mean. means: chill. out.
what is messed up about the rotation that pedro would fix? two legitimate front-end starters are pitching like crap after 2 starts. you gonna DFA one? have lackey pitch long relief?
martinez is the greatest pitcher i’ve ever seen in person, but the rotation’s fine. thanks but no thanks pedro. best of luck
I agree that at the moment let’s wait and see if the rotation sorts itself out. It’s WAY to early to make rash decisions. But if it’s the end of May and Lackey and DiceK(and I don’t care how much they make) are still getting rocked every start then I would love to bring back Pedro IF he has anything left in the tank.
i want the sox to sign him, we have nothing to lose …. and he is still really good
Only out of the bullpen, though.
“and he is still really good”
based on what? he was reasonably effective for 40 innings two years ago in the NL. he’s now knocking on age 40 after two years out of the game
the idea of pedro having one last lights-out year as a reliever in boston is obviously appealing, but it isn’t realistic. the reality is that it would be a very humbling and disappointing way to end a phenomenal career
I could see him coming back and having a descent half-season but he should really consider a large NL park and a team with good defense. Doubtful he’ll strike out as many as he used to.
come back to BOSTON!!!
I could see him in the NL west. Padres, Giants, return to Doyers?
he lives in the east coast, he’s not going to the west
I’d rather have pedro than silva or millwood, but I guess the Yanks already made their choice.
Millwood is a bonafide innings eater, something Pedro might not be and that was a good signing. Silva is just to keep the Red Sox away, just in case Carlos wants to get serious about playing baseball again. With 9 years in, he needs 100 days on someones roster to qualify for a pension. He gives up lots of hits (but not many walks) and constantly battles to keep his pitch count down and stay in a game. Make an error behind him and he’s nuts.
Petey, on the other hand, would probably be the smartest pitcher on any team he signs for. He wouldn’t embarrass himself if he didn’t think he could help someone, he’s not coming back for the money, he just loves to play. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yanks signed him, but if I were to bet, I would say St. Louis.
I’d take Pedro over Silva…not like Silvas ganna see the majors with them idk why they signed him
they didn’t burn enough money this offseason…Cashman needs to maintain a constant cash output to hold on to his job.
Look like…2 months back. Called it. This guy is the second coming of Brett Favre.
How, he never once said he was retiring, hes said two or three times he wants to still pitch, never once did he retire, and then unretire he has stated, that he wants to pitch, both this year and last year, just not an entire year.
mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/phillies-asked-about-pe…
He can’t decide if he wants to play or retire and keeps changing his mind. Brett Favre.
Brett Favre was still an elite quarterback as of 2009. And Pedro has never confirmed his retirement.
Your too old , let go.
Didn’t Martinez have a few unkind words for the BoSox after 2004?
Not that I can remember but Pedro has always been kind of a diva especially when it comes to respect( ie having Sox exercise his 17 million option 1 year early and sharing the spotlight with Schilling). Bottom line is he loves Boston and, if you saw his return with the Mets, the fans will always love Pedro! Easily the greatest pitcher I ever saw. ( and even more impressive when you consider the juiced up sluggers he toyed with like in the 99 All-Star Game)
Bring it Pedro. You and me together. We’ll fix Boston’s rotation baby!!
Isn’t it a little premature to assume that he’s going into the HOF? I also wonder how these potential team mates feel about a pitcher who is sitting around waiting to be called upon, while they bust their butts for the bulk of the season getting themselves into playoff position. No thanks Pedro – stay in my memories where you belong.
Pedros a slam dunk first ballot Hall Of Famer especially when you add in the benefits of how good his numbers look pitching in the steroid era!
I don’t doubt his numbers add up. It’s just that in the last 5 years *nothing* is slam dunk. Last week I’d have said Manny would be a shoe in. 3 years ago I’d have wagered my house that Roger Clemens was a mortal lock. Sorry to hit out with Red Sox references….but lets face it, there aren’t many Toronto ones! (I know Clemens played 2 yrs for us) I just think the wording ‘I’d like to retire and go into the HOF with a Red Sox hat on’ is presumptuous.
clemens was a lock until the steroid crap came up. pedro’s name has never been linked to it
his resume speaks for itself, but i feel compelled to remind people of this whenever the opportunity arises:
23-4 213 IP 13.20 K/9 1.56 BB/9 0.38 HR/9 2.07 ERA 1.39 FIP 12.1 WAR
also youtube the 99 all-star game. with the possible exception of randy johnson, no pitcher in the modern era has ever been so completely and obscenely dominant. the fact that it was an enormous hitter’s/steroid era makes it that much more impressive
Not to get stuck repeating myself here, but like in most other aspects of life, very little is certain. I’m on board with Pedro being a HOF’er. I remember his dominant days, and I enjoyed his pitching as a fan. My point was, that I also enjoyed watching other players, and I’ve seen too many fall from grace, and that ‘mortal lock’ should replaced with ‘It’ll be great if it happens’
UKJays, I’m as big a Yankees fan as there is, but unless Pedro is proven to have done steroids (unlikely since his weight probably never topped 160) or murders his wife and has Manny drive his Bronco (“Hello, this is AC, umm, I mean MR. I have Pedro in the back seat…”) then he is most certainly a first-ballot HOFer. He was dominant — against everybody except the Yankees. We know it and he knows it.
phillies need a closer….
Phillies need a closer? Have you seen Contreras pitch the last two years? If he somehow falters do you think Madsen can’t step in? Besides, Lidge isn’t out for the season. He’ll be back at some point. Lastly, The Phillies considered using Pedro as a reliever when he was with us and decided against it because he always took a few innings to find his groove. A relief pitcher isn’t afforded that luxury.
Come to the Cardinals!
Pedro, Pedro!! yay, who doesnt love this guy, hes amazing, imagine a predro without injuries throug his carreer!
“He would consider the Phillies though as he would like to win a championship in the National League.” ……………..Winning.