Veteran backstop Russell Martin intends to suit up again for the 2020 season, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). If and when he appears, it’ll represent his 15th season of MLB duty.
Martin, 37 in February, finished out his five-year, $82MM contract this season. He’ll assuredly be available for a much lesser commitment this time around after another steady but unexciting season of part-time duty.
When last Martin tested free agency, he was coming off of a personal-best offensive season. That’s not the case any longer. Martin carries a .211/.340/.350 slash line over the past three campaigns. This year with the Dodgers, he sunk to a personal-worst 83 wRC+.
The offensive limitations limit the appeal, but it stands to reason that there’ll still be a good bit of interest. Martin has long been lauded for his defensive chops and still grades as a plus pitch framer. He’s also a highly respected veteran who’d help draw the best out of a pitching staff and add gravitas to the dugout.
Houston might be a good fit if they don’t re-sign their catchers.
I really like that fit
I often wonder why in the case of somebody like Martin, where the main appeal is his knowledge and clubhouse presence, doesn’t consider beginning a coaching career. I don’t know how the money compares, but it certainly would be less stressful on 37 year old knees, and would allow him to contribute full time the assets he’s most likely being signed for. He’s obviously respected for what he knows and it would seem there would be a market, and it wouldn’t tie up a roster spot…
Probably because he wants to play as long as he can
The hardest thing to do is stop playing. We are ALL told to stop, some of us just earlier than others…
Agree with both of you, those are the reasons I came up with. One you retire as an active player, that’s (generally) forever, so I guess stay for the ride as long as someone will pay you…
Been wondering a lot lately (as a Cards fan) how many more seasons Yadi has left in him as a player, and when he’s through if he’ll consider coaching. Man, what an asset his years of knowledge and experience would provide!!
moneyball
Thank you for your immense contribution to this post.
as a back up he will most likely only start once a week or so, maybe come in for some late inning defense so there wear and tear is minimal and the money is significantly higher.
He would definitely make more money playing unless he somehow became a manager.
well, he does have 1 day experience as a manager
Tigers
Yes, we need a veteran’s presence. Would fit in well in a part time role.
He’d fit here. Lucroy was bad on both sides of the ball. I’d take Russell as a backup.
Kevan is the GOAT
Atlanta…cheap and adequate behind Flowers.
I was thinking the same thing. For the past several years the Braves have only been putting good pitch framers that have great clubhouse presence behind the plate. They love those cheap veteran catcher contracts too. I think they will likely continue the trend of cheap stop gap veteran contracts behind the plate to hold it down while Contreras and Langoliers develop in the minors. The biggest thing us that he and Braves GM Alex Anthopolous get along very well. Anthopolous is the GM who gave him that $80+ million contract in Toronto so I’m sure the feeling is mutual on Martin’s side. Good clubhouse presence? Check. Good pitch framer? Check. Veteran? Check. Short term contract? Check. Cheap contract? Check. Long history and experience getting along with the Braves GM? Check. I think there is a solid chance he will come to Atlanta on a cheap one year deal. He’s not my personal first choice though. A catching tandem of him and Flowers does not look very good for the offense. I would prefer Grandal or darnaud. Those 2 guys are gonna have a lot of suitors though. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see AA go after either of them considering there is no QO attached. Grandal qould be the best. Between the $12 million they are saving from letting Teheran walk and the $9 million they are saving from letting O’Day walk the Braves should be able to afford Grandal. Especially if Donaldson isn’t resigned. They also need to figure out a way to allocate funds to helo the starting rotation though and with Contreras and Langoliers developing in the minors they may prefer to spend their money that way instead of handing out a 4 year deal that could block the prospects. I hope they raise payroll enough to sign Grandal and great starting pitching while retaining Donaldson but that is probably more of a pipe dream. You always need at least 2 catchers though so even if they signed Grandal there would be room for Contreras or Langoliers on the roster by 2021 so they could overspend on him a little bit on Grandal since they love guys that don’t require drag pick compensation. If the Braves don’t get darnaud or Grandal though, my money is on Martin ending up in Atlanta.
Pitch framing will be out the window in 2022 when the electronic strike zone takes over. Pitch framing ranks at the top of dumbest baseball stats
Agreed. Framing is the open admission that umps stink at calling balls and strikes. To think that balls and strikes can be determined by how a catcher moves his mitt is simply abominable. A ball and a strike should be determined based on where the baseball crosses the plate. Period. Not on where the catcher puts his glove, not on how the ump feels in a given moment. Just on where the ball goes. Period.
I agree with you. I consider myself more of a “purist” than most. I don’t like the rules they use for designated hitting. I don’t really get why the DH can only be used for the pitcher and if they use the DH for offensive purposes, why don’t they just have the 9 best defensive players on the field at all times and use the best 4 hitters a team can get to bat as a DH every at bat. Then you get the best combination of pitching, defense and hitting. I know that people wouldn’t consider it baseball because it’s against the original rules if baseball but the fact of the matter is that using a DH for a pitcher is against the rules of the game of baseball as well. I know MLB changes their own personal rules whenever they want but if they use a DH for the hitter for the purpose of generating more offense then why not have the courage of conviction and do it all around? DHing in general is either good for the game or bad for the game. There is no in between. That aside, I still support computer strike calls. I’m not saying that home plate umpires should go away. I am just saying a computer has a better chance of determining whether the pitch is defined as a strike or a ball per the rules of baseball. Let the computer tell the ump so one man doesn’t have so much control over the outcome of the game via blown calls. The computers aren’t perfect but last I read they were right on balls and strikes about 97% of the time. The home plate umps were only right about 81% of the time. That means an ump blows at least 1 out of every 6 ball/strike calls while a computer only blows 1 out of 32 calls. That is a big difference. I don’t want the home umpire gone. Just let him see what the computer says before he makes the call. How many times have we seen a player ejected for arguing balls and strikes when the player was right? In the leagues where computers are used a player has only been ejected for arguing balls and strikes once. And on replay it was obvious the player was dead wrong. I also wanted to mention that from my understanding catchers that are referred to as good framers generally have 2 virtues. The main benefit is the one you mentioned about balls and strikes. The other, less mentioned benefit that isn’t pointed out in the term “pitch framer” but often comes along with catchers of that ilk is their ability to read their own pitchers and call the best pitches in any particular situation. I know Brian McCann was that way. That is a very beneficial ability for a young pitching staff. Just because a catcher can throw base stealers out and prevent wild pitches/ passed balls doesn’t mean they can necessarily guide young pitchers through a game. It may not be the case with all catchers that are referred to as “pitch framers but in terms of guys like McCann and Flowers who don’t throw out a ton of base runners and don’t have spectacular offensive stats, that is typically the case. No team keeps a poor offensive catcher who lacks traditional defensive stats just for the purposes of pitch framing. They sign them to guide the young pitchers in the direction of success. It may not be stated in the term ” pitch framer” but that is because it is intangible. The closest way to measure a catchers pitch calling ability is to look at how frequently proven smart veteran pitchers shake off their pitch calls. The young pitchers do it frequently because they are still learning. It’s the catchers job to guide them where they need to be in order for that pitcher to develop into the best possible present and future asset on a team.
On a side note, I once watched John Smoltz pitch a complete game shutout I Brian McCann (earlier in McCann’s career) where Smoltz didn’t shake off a single pitch. Out of 100+ pitches McCann picked the exact best pitch every single time BEFORE Smoltz did. That’s pretty cool considering Smoltz was already well on his way into the hall of fame at that point and McCann was relatively young (maybe even a rookie). I think that’s what a lot of teams look for when the want “pitch framers.” Not for guys like Smoltz but to teach the younger pitchers to think like the future hall of fame pitchers that love every pitch call those catchers make.
Personally I would prefer Fransisco Cerveli. Love that dude
Cervelli is still a good player but is one foul tip away from retirement.
No one is looking out for his long term health.
The Pirates found that out the hard way last year.
Yeah. I would actually prefer to retain Cervelli over signing Martin as well. There has been a lot of talk about him not wanting to be a catcher anymore so I didn’t mention him. I do hope the Braves can retain him on a cheap 2 year deal just to see if he can keep it going. He is also another great clubhouse presence too.
Intending to play vs someone wanting you are two different things. I don’t think anyone would want him.
Why not? He’d be a perfect backup for probably over half the league as things stand right now.
No thanks
But why, seriously? You think there’s 60 catchers better than him? And even if you do, the experience and he will provide is invaluable.
I also intend on playing in 2020
I, too, will play
I already got my workout in this morning and am ready to sign wherever
1 year/$2.5M maybe go back to the Yankees? Or are they still high on Higashioka or think they can re-sign Austin?
1 year/$2.5M maybe go back to the Yankees? Or are they still high on Higashioka or think they can re-sign Austin Romine? Sorry for the double post I’m on my phone something glitched.
That much huh? I think minor league deal league min of anything
Hall of Famer or no?
I mean no disrespect but he is not a HOF caliber player. A great clubhouse leader that leads his team by example and leaves it all on the field for sure. I just don’t see the stats to warrant his selection. His body of work is great but nothing stands out. He could be one heck of a coach one day though.
Hall of Famer or no?
There are worse catchers than him in the hall, at least by WAR and other HOF metrics, but even with a late career resurgence I think his only shot is getting inducted somewhere down the line by a some committee. Maybe the fact he’s Canadian helps
I assume he stays in LA and backs up Smith.
They’ll probably bring Barnes back up, even though he kind of sucks.
Back to the Pirates as a player coach.
i agree with this. pushing this since diaz fell appart. he was a big reason pirates pitching was decent.
even if a 3rd option his experience would be valuable to both pichers and catchers.
Great idea. Would restore some
Common sense to the clubhouse as well.
Russell Martin was a fine player with the Pirates for two years and was a surprise free aagent for $10.5 M per year.
Then the Blue Jays offered an $80M 5 year contract and the Pirates would give the same rate but just for four years.
His 211 average over the last three years was not quite worth $48M no matter how good of a pitch framer he is.
He will not want to play unless it is a very good team although he may want to go back to the Pirates as a player coach as I think that he enjoyed his time there and may want to coach in the future.
Milwaukee
I think he would absolutely be a fit in Milwaukee and I think he is still very athletic enough to help as a back up in the infield too. Better fit then Grandal in my opinion . Maybe even try to carry him and Nottingham at the same time so he can learn from a true professional.
Cincinnati Reds backup catcher
Looks like a Pirates dumpster dive
As a Pirates fan, obviously the homer off Cueto in the wild card game is my indelible memory of Martin’s career but early in that season (June, maybe even May) there was a game against the astros where it was tied in the ninth and martin hit a high fly ball between second, center and right field that should’ve been the last out and forced extras but all three players thought someone else was going to get it and the ball dropped and the winning run came in to score. That play will always be in my memory too because after 20 years that was the first time I saw something like that happen for the Pirates to win and not lose a game. I assume you’re not reading this but thanks Russell and best of luck.
Such a good guy to have around. And, in his prime, as good of a defensive catcher there was. He always made the pitching staff so much better. His two years with the Pirates was amazing.
man, this guy’s a serious ball player. i wish the dodgers would bring him back so he can pitch an inning or five. he’d probably be one of the best arms in the bullpen 🙂
Two way player
If the Dodgers plan on resigning Ryu, then getting Martin as his personal catcher would be very ideal. Look at the stats when Martin caught Ryu compared to Smith.
Austin Hedges vs Russell Martin.
Who’s better? Who has more upside?
Rhetorically asked.
I think Russell’s days as the # 1 catcher are behind him, but I remember Greg Zaun saying that he played over 16 yrs in the majors as the back-up catcher and it was playing in that role that kept him in the majors so I think Martin if the knees hold up likely has another year. Braves need a back-up as does the Red Sox, and remember Martin can play 1st base as wee as a little 3rd so he has some utility value.
As for the framing, they admit that it still has flaws and while we all agree umpires make mistakes, this game was built on players and umpires.
If you bring in framing and let computers call the balls and strikes what is next a pitching machine that a coach operates like a video game and he selects the exact pitch the machine throws.
This is a game, played by kids and up and slowly but surely they are letting the people with the pocket pen holders who never played the game at any level take over the game and take the fun out of it.
Pitch framing rating: this is why we need robo-umps
I’d love for the Cards to sign Martin to backup Molina and take some innings/pressure off of Molina in the regular season
They’ll resign Weiters. Also, Kinzner will get most of the backup playing time the second half!!!
May want to play but who would even want to sign him?????