A 17th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2002 draft, Martin spent his first five Major League seasons and his final season (2019) in Dodger blue.  In between his two stints in Los Angeles, Martin played two seasons apiece with the Yankees and Pirates, and four seasons playing the Blue Jays in his home country of Canada.

It didn’t take Martin long to make an impression, as he was a ninth-place finisher in NL Rookie of The Year voting in his 2006 debut season, and he then crushed the “sophomore slump” by winning a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award in 2007.  Martin also earned the first of his four All-Star nods that year, later returning to the Midsummer Classic in 2008, as a Yankee in 2011, and as a Blue Jay in 2015.

One of the sport’s better defenders and pitch-framers during his career, Martin would likely have captured more than one Gold Glove had he not spent so many of his prime years in the same league as Yadier Molina.  Bringing some extra athleticism to the catcher position, Martin also saw some action elsewhere around the diamond during his career, appearing in 57 games at third base and making a handful of appearances at second base, shortstop, and both corner outfield slots.

Martin complemented his defense with some solid and occasionally excellent hitting, including his Silver Slugger year and a 2014 season with Pittsburgh that saw him hit .290/.402/.430 over 460 PA.  That latter season was particularly timely for Martin since it came just before a trip into free agency, and the result was a five-year, $82MM deal that at the time was the second-biggest contract in Blue Jays history.  It was the long-term payday that Martin had been seeking after a few underwhelming years, including an injury-marred 2010 season that led the Dodgers to non-tender him that fall.

Winning was a common element for Martin no matter where he went, as he appeared in the postseason in 10 of his 14 seasons.  While none of Martin’s teams reached the World Series, he had his share of memorable playoff moments — perhaps most notably a (crowd-assisted) home run off Johnny Cueto as part of a two-homer game for Martin in the Pirates’ Wild Card game victory over the Reds in 2013.

As his career wound down, Martin did plan to play in 2020 and received a few offers from teams, but the pandemic seemed to scuttle any chances of the catcher returning for one final season.  He’ll now hang up his cleats after hitting .248/.349/.397 (104 wRC+) with 191 home runs and 1416 hits over 1693 games and 6648 PA in the Show.  Martin retires as an icon in Canadian baseball, as only Ferguson Jenkins, Larry Walker, and Joey Votto recorded more career bWAR amongst players born north of the border.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Martin on a terrific career, and we also congratulate his family on the impending arrival of a third child (as Martin announced in his Instagram post).

On the other end of the spectrum, the Giants are blessed with two of the top catching prospects in all of baseball. Joey Bart, the #2 overall pick from the 2018 draft is ranked by Baseball America as the second best catching prospect in all of baseball. Then, with the 13th pick in this year’s draft, they snagged the top NCAA catcher available in Patrick Bailey.

So, yes, big picture, the Giants have an enviable catching corps. But they need to field the position for 2020, and that’s where things get a little sticky. Bailey, 21, has zero chance of jumping straight to the majors from college. He needs time in pro ball to develop. Bart is closer, but all indications are that the Giants want to give him more time, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’s close, appearing in 22 games at Double-A last year and raking to the tune of .316/.368/.544. But a talent like Bart is worth the wait, and though he might be ready at some point this season, the Giants aren’t likely to contend. They don’t want to punt the first part of his career in sub-optimal conditions.

Enter Russell Martin? Schulman put forth Martin’s name as a possibility, noting that Justin Turner lobbied for the veteran to return to the Dodgers recently. Even in a part-time capacity, the well-respected Martin would certainly make some sense. The 37-year-old backstop proved he still had a role on a ML club last season with the league-leading Dodgers. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that the Giants will have to evaluate their internal and external options, and if nothing else, they’re likely going to need someone else in camp just to catch the pitchers on hand.

Without him, the Giants are looking at Chadwick Tromp, Tyler Heineman, and Rob Brantly as the top options from their player pool. Combined, they have 464 big-league plate appearances (429 from Brantly, 11 from Heineman). Brantly, 30, is by far the most experienced of the three, but he hasn’t seen substantive time in the majors since 2017. For the rebuilding Giants, they’re probably most concerned with their ability to handle pitchers and less concerned with contributions at the plate – which is the best argument in favor of pursuing a vet like Martin.

There are catchers out there they could acquire via trade, but with 60-man player pools, catchers fill a very particular need, and player movement has never been more complicated than it is now. Still, they could engage the Rockies’ for Elias Diaz or the Rangers for Blake Swihart, Tim Federowicz, or Nick Ciuffo. Those are just options from teams in their regional pool because, again: player movement is not simple anymore. For those reasons, Martin probable represents the best outside option.

The Giants support Posey in his decision, and they’re going to continue to work with Bart and Bailey to get them ready for their big-league debuts. Maybe Bart will find a way in intrasquad play to prove himself ready. Or maybe one of Tromp, Heineman, or Brantly will seize the opportunity. What we know for sure, the Giants have 60 games ahead in the 2020 season, and they’re going to need a catcher for every one of them.

It’s unknown how recent the Mets’ interest in Martin was, but it does look as if the team could use a competent veteran to team with starter Wilson Ramos. Martin happens to be far and away the best backstop remaining in free agency, where available players at his position are all but nonexistent at this point. Martin appeared in a career-low 83 games with the Dodgers in 2019, but he posted 1.2 fWAR with a .220/.337/.330 line and an above-average 12 percent walk rate in 249 plate appearances. He also kept up his eminently useful ways behind the late, where he finished both 17th among all catchers in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric and as a pitch framer.

Mets backup Tomas Nido was similarly impressive as a defender last season (19th in FRAA and as a framer), but his offense doesn’t compare to even that of an aging Martin. The 25-year-old Nido has basically been unplayable as a hitter since he began garnering a decent chunk of playing time two seasons ago, having batted .182/.219/.286 in 234 trips to the plate dating back to 2018.

Behind Ramos and Nido, the most established option in the New York organization is non-roster invitee Rene Rivera, who – despite having earned the trust of prominent right-hander Noah Syndergaard in the past – has never been much of an offensive threat in the majors. He also hasn’t seen much time in the bigs over the past couple years. The Mets’ backup catcher situation looks ripe for an upgrade, then, and Martin may be the one to provide it.

While Martin has received chances to sign with teams since 2019 ended, he has turned down those opportunities for family reasons, Sherman reports. However, expectations are that he’ll put himself back on the market within the “next few weeks,” per Sherman.

Since the offseason commenced, the Athletics have been the only team connected to Martin in the rumor mill. Wherever he goes (if he signs anywhere), he’ll have to settle for a low-paying major league contract or even a minors deal. But that’s not to dismiss Martin’s vast accomplishments. Set to turn 37 on Saturday, the former Dodger, Yankee, Pirate and Blue Jay is statistically one of the most successful catchers ever, ranking ninth all-time at his position in fWAR (55.2).

Although Martin’s no longer the player he was in his heyday, the four-time All-Star still has something to offer. Martin was worth 1.2 fWAR in a part-time role last season in Los Angeles, where he hit .220/.337/.330 in 249 plate appearances. He also rated as one of the top pitch-framing catchers in the game. Beyond statistics, Martin has always been thought of as a high-quality teammate and leader, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him end up in a major league uniform yet again in 2020.

There’s at least some chance that Russell Martin, a longtime Dodger, will remain in California. Oakland “checked in with” him earlier in the offseason, Slusser writes. Should the team wind up signing Martin, the 36-year-old would make for quite a mentor for Murphy.

Martin, who debuted in 2006, has been one of the game’s most successful catchers in recent memory on the field and a well-regarded locker room presence off it. While Martin’s production has tailed off in the past couple seasons, he still turned in 1.2 fWAR with a .220/.337/.330 line in 249 plate appearances last year. Behind the plate, Martin threw out just 18 percent of would-be base stealers, though Baseball Prospectus did assign him above-average marks for his overall work as a defender.

Martin’s likely the most appealing catcher left in a free-agent market that has shrunk to almost nothing at his position. Fellow ex-star Jonathan Lucroy, a former Athletic, is also out there. He has engaged in “conversations with a few teams,” per Slusser, though it’s unclear if the A’s are among them.

Of course, Oakland could just decide to stick with in-house choices at catcher, where it has two options besides Murphy on its 40-man roster. The club acquired Austin Allen, who’s penciled in as its backup, from the Padres in December. The Athletics also have Jonah Heim, a 24-year-old who raked in Triple-A ball in 2019. Additionally, they picked up veteran Carlos Perez earlier this winter, though he’s not on their 40-man.

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.

“I know I can do it physically. It’s going to be, do I have the desire? Am I going to enjoy myself doing it? I don’t know….I really like competing,” Martin said.  “Being on a team like this is fun, but if I wasn’t on a winning team, I’d have to be really selective on where I would go. I’d have to have that perfect fit and who knows if that’s going to be available. There are a lot of things that are going to come into play in the decision. This could possibly be my last year. I don’t know. It could be. We’ll see.”

Martin will be 37 on Opening Day 2020, so it isn’t any surprise that he has been considering the end of his career.  He has hit .211/.332/.304 over 205 plate appearances this season, continuing an offensive decline that began to sharpen in 2018.  Martin has probably received more playing time than expected this season due to Austin Barnes’ struggles, though the emergence of Will Smith as the Dodgers’ regular catcher has firmly placed Martin back into his original veteran backup role.  Martin is still one of the sport’s better pitch-framers, and his .227 caught stealing percentage (5-of-22) is roughly middle of the pack, though Baseball Prospectus rates him as a below-average blocker.

The five-year, $82MM contract Martin signed with the Blue Jays prior to the 2015 season is up after this year, and one would imagine the Dodgers would have some interest in re-signing Martin as an inexpensive veteran mentor to Smith.  Then again, Los Angeles also has another top catching prospect in Keibert Ruiz who could be close to the big leagues, plus the club still has to figure out what to do with Barnes, who is less than two years’ removed from himself seemingly being the Dodgers’ catcher of the future.

As Davidi notes, it’s also possible Martin could decide to retire on a high note if the Dodgers were to win the World Series, thus giving the catcher the championship ring that has eluded him through multiple trips to the postseason.  If Martin did decide to keep playing, he’d certainly get calls from several teams (including contenders) about a contract in 2020.

One theoretical option could be Philadelphia, as Davidi writes that the Blue Jays’ offseason trade talks about Martin “came down to the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.”  J.T. Realmuto is obviously locked as the Phillies’ everyday starter, though Andrew Knapp’s rough season has left the club looking for further depth options.

Martin’s return should be a welcome one for Los Angeles, whose primary catcher, Austin Barnes, has seen his numbers decline significantly over the past couple weeks. Barnes sported an otherworldly 1.110 OPS when Martin hit the IL with lower back inflammation on April 10, but he’s now down to .729 in that category. Martin, meanwhile, slashed an outstanding .333/.500/.600 with five walks against three strikeouts in 22 plate appearances prior to going on the IL. The well-respected 36-year-old is in his second stint with the Dodgers, with whom he stood out from 2006-10 before rejoining the team in an offseason trade with the Blue Jays.

Gale, on the other hand, has done anything but thrive as a Dodger. The 31-year-old posted a matching and equally woeful .143/.143/.143 line in 14 trips to the plate after the Dodgers promoted him to replace Martin. Gale, who debuted with the Padres in 2015, owns an ugly .111/.111/.194 line in 36 major league PA.

Here’s the latest on other injuries from around baseball…

• DeGrom’s teammate Robinson Cano exited Sunday’s matchup with the Cardinals after he was hit in the hand with an Andrew Miller pitch. X-rays returned negative results, but Healey notes that Cano was wearing a cast after the game and will likely undergo further testing to determine the seriousness of the injury. Off to a slow start with his new club, Cano certainly does not need an injury to complicate an already challenging April.
• Nationals ace Max Scherzer suffered an unusual injury earlier today when he tweaked his left intercostal while dodging a foul ball that found its way to the Nats’ dugout. Per Byron Kerr of MASN, Scherzer is optimistic that the injury will only keep him out of commission for a couple of days and will not require an IL stint. Scherzer started Saturday’s game in Miami, so such a time frame would not require the righty to miss any scheduled starts.
• According to Pedro Moura of The Athletic, the Dodgers will activate southpaw Rich Hill and catcher Russell Martin this weekend when the Pirates visit Dodger Stadium. Both veterans are currently on the 10-day IL, with Martin suffering from lower back inflammation and Hill, who has yet to make his 2019 debut, recovering from a left knee sprain. The Dodgers’ rotation has excelled even without Hill, but the club will certainly welcome the 38-year-old back into the fold, further strengthening the pitching staff.
• Bad news for the Blue Jays’ rotation continues to pile up, with right-hander Aaron Sanchez exiting Sunday’s game due to a broken fingernail on his right middle finger. Notably, Sanchez has a history of finger issues, which have led to IL stints in each of the previous two seasons. However, manager Charlie Montoyo told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link) that he is hopeful the injury will not force Sanchez to miss any starts.

Acquired over the winter via trade, Martin has shared time behind the plate with Austin Barnes. Expectations were tempered for the 36-year-old’s second stint in Los Angeles, as he has been limited by injuries and seen his offensive numbers dip in recent seasons. But things had gone rather well to this point, with Martin off to a .333/.500/.600 start with the bat through 22 plate appearances.

More from the NL…

• The Braves don’t yet have to worry about extending first baseman Freddie Freeman, who’s under control through 2021. But when it’s time for Freeman to sign another deal, he hopes Atlanta’s the team that gives it to him. Freeman said this week that he loves Atlanta and would like to spend his entire career there, Mark Bowman of MLB.com relays. Regarding a potential extension, Freeman stated: “If [the extension is] four or five more years following [my current deal] and I’m declining, I’ll be out. I really will. I don’t want to put on another uniform for another year.” The 29-year-old added that he doesn’t plan to approach the Braves about a new contract, but “if they want to engage in that, I’m obviously here to engage because I want to be here for the rest of my career.” The club may take Freeman up on that in a year or two, Bowman suggests. At this point, Freeman still has $65MM left on the eight-year, $135MM extension he signed heading into the 2014 campaign.
• The Dodgers plan to deploy Austin Barnes, not offseason acquisition Russell Martin, as their primary catcher, according to manager Dave Roberts (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). “If you look at it from a five-man rotation situation I would say Austin three out of five,” Roberts said of Barnes, who nosedived last season after a stellar first-year showing in 2017. The Dodgers hope he’ll bounce back and team with the 36-year-old Martin, who’s in his second stint with the franchise, to effectively replace now-Brewer Yasmani Grandal. It won’t be an easy task – despite Grandal’s playoff miscues in LA, he was one of the game’s most valuable catchers during his four-year tenure with the Dodgers.
• The Padres’ rotation picture is becoming clearer, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. It appears highly touted prospect Chris Paddack and Matt Strahm will slot in behind Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer, while the battle for the fifth spot is seemingly down to Logan Allen and Cal Quantrill. Robbie Erlin had been in the competition, but manager Andy Green said Saturday the left-hander will open the year as a reliever. Allen and Quantrill, who rank among the Padres’ top 15 prospects in a stacked system, will each get one last chance to make a case for a rotation job Sunday.

1:30pm: The Blue Jays have formally announced the trade. They’ll send Martin and cash to Los Angeles in exchange for minor league shortstop Ronny Brito and minor league right-hander Andrew Sopko.

1:12pm: The Dodgers have reached an agreement on a trade with the Blue Jays that will bring veteran catcher Russell Martin back to Los Angeles, reports Arash Madani of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Martin will earn $20MM in 2019 — the final season of a five-year, $82MM contract with the Jays. Presumably, Toronto is paying down a hefty portion of that remaining salary as part of the trade.

The addition of Martin shouldn’t strictly take the Dodgers out of the running for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto, though there’s certainly less urgency for Los Angeles to meet Miami’s lofty asking price with this deal in place. Still, it’s not inconceivable that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman could make a strong offer for Realmuto even with Martin and Austin Barnes on the roster. Barnes has a minor league option remaining and is capable of playing the infield, and some reports have indicated that Miami would like a catcher with MLB experience as part of a Realmuto deal (in addition to multiple top prospects); Barnes could fit that description, speculatively speaking.

Soon to turn 36, Martin will bring a keen eye a the plate and strong defensive skills to the Dodgers, who of course originally drafted and developed the four-time All-Star. While last season’s .194/.338/.325 batting line obviously looks ugly, Martin walked at a nearly 16 percent clip, one of the highest rates in the league, and demonstrated that he still has a bit of pop — certainly enough to make him comparable to other catchers throughout the game. Martin hit 10 homers and recorded a .133 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average), the latter of which checked in only slightly south of the mark of a league-average catcher (.141 ISO).

Martin did hit the ball on the ground (51.2 percent) and pop up (19.4 percent of his fly-balls were pop-ups) at career-high rates in 2018, so the .234 average on balls in play he posted last season may not be as much of a fluke as it would seem at first glance. But, if he’s able to correct either of those issues in a return to Chavez Ravine, he’ll give the Dodgers a high-quality defender with excellent on-base skills. Martin’s caught-stealing numbers have dwindled recently (22 percent in 2018), but he remains a premium pitch framer and was among the best in baseball at blocking pitches in the dirt, per Baseball Prospectus’ metrics.

The trade of Martin to Los Angeles will open the door for Jays catching prospect Danny Jansen to audition as a long-term piece behind the dish. The 23-year-old Jansen has long rated as one of the organization’s better prospects and enjoyed a solid late-2018 debut with a .247/.347/.432 slash and three homers in 95 plate appearances. Jansen will team with 27-year-old Luke Maile, a strong defensive backstop who had a career-best .248/.333/.366 batting line in 231 plate appearances last season.

Brito, 20 in March, signed with the Dodgers for a $2MM bonus as a 16-year-old amateur and has yet to ascend beyond Rookie ball. He split the 2018 season between the Dominican Summer League (eight games) and the Pioneer League (53 games), posting a combined .295/.359/.496 batting line with 11 homers and 14 doubles in 262 plate appearances. He’s quite a ways from big league relevance, but he did enjoy solid production against older competition in the Pioneer League this past season.

Sopko is a 24-year-old righty whom the Dodgers selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. He opened the 2018 season at Class-A Advanced and ascended to Double-A midway through the season. Between those two levels, Sopko notched a 3.52 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9. As a fly-ball righty with a low-90s heater who relies on control, his realistic ceiling is more along the lines of a back-end starter, but his success in Double-A means he shouldn’t be too far from getting a look at the big league level.

Some more from around baseball as we kick off 2019…

• Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins discussed several topics during a conference call with reporters (including Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm), including his team’s recent acquisitions of Matt Shoemaker and Clayton Richard.  Atkins said the two veteran hurlers will likely be used in the rotation if physically able, though he stopped short of fully confirming that usage, noting that “both guys have the potential to start,” and “I do think there could be a scenario where either one of them or potentially both could be used in a (different) role.”  The Jays still have a need for pitching, and Atkins said that the club will continue to look at adding more starters and relievers as the offseason continues, both in free agency and perhaps in trades, as Toronto continues to receive interest from other teams.  “We’ll continue to consider any opportunities to move players potentially off of our roster.  It’s not something we are proactively looking to do, but we do have a great number of players that other teams are interested in,” Atkins said.  He also specifically noted that catcher Russell Martin is “interesting to a lot of teams.”
• Though the Astros have been linked to several first base/designated hitter types this winter, The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (subscription required) notes that the team could be in good shape as it stands by having Tyler White get a regular share of DH at-bats.  White posted a .276/.354/.533 slash line over 237 PA last season, and he could join with the Astros’ left-handed outfielders (Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick, or Tony Kemp) in a timeshare at DH to keep everyone fresh.  However, Kaplan also feels Houston will need to move an outfielder before Opening Day to alleviate a playing time crunch, which means that Kemp, Jake Marisnick, or possibly top prospect Kyle Tucker could all be trade candidates.  There were also some rumblings about Reddick on the trade market last month, so it could be that Brantley and George Springer are the only two untouchable outfielders on Houston’s roster.  Kaplan’s mailbag piece is well worth a full read, as it covers several other topics about the Astros’ offseason and potential long-term moves for the club.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

• It doesn’t seem as if the Red Sox will be re-signing Craig Kimbrel, as club president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne and MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) today that “we’re not looking to make a big expenditure in” the closer position.  Past reports indicated that Boston had only limited interest in bringing back the star closer, and with Kimbrel seeking a six-year deal, it seems as if his asking price will simply be too high for the team’s liking.  If Kimbrel isn’t returning, the Red Sox are looking around for other relief options, and Dombrowski noted that they would prefer inking a closer to a short-term deal.  It also isn’t out of the question that the Sox use Ryan Brasier or Matt Barnes as a closer next season, though Dombrowski said it’s too early in the offseason for such determinations.
• Dombrowski also mentioned that the Red Sox had received interest in catchers Christian Vazquez, Blake Swihart, and Sandy Leon, and that the club is “open to discussing” any of the three in trade talks.  None of the trio are coming off good reasons, though Leon and Vazquez have a lot of defensive upside and Swihart may yet be able to unlock his prospect potential with a change of scenery.
• The Blue Jays have been drawing interest in Russell Martin and other catchers, while a rival executive describes closer Ken Giles as “available” in trade talks, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports.  It stands to reason that the rebuilding Jays are open to just about any veteran on their roster, though Giles’ market may not develop until some of the other notable relievers on the free agent or trade fronts have been moved.  Another rival executive believes Martin has trade value despite a $20MM salary owed in 2019, though the Jays’ willingness to eat a significant portion of that money will determine if a deal is realistic or not.  Absorbing more of the salary would improve the quality of the prospect(s) Toronto received, Davidi writes.

Cervelli, 33 in March, just wrapped up a vastly superior offensive season to Martin and is owed a more palatable $11.5MM in 2019 before reaching free agency next winter. That price point is obviously steep for the typically low-budget Pirates, but other clubs around the league may not consider it excessive for a player who hit .259/.378/.431 with a career-high 12 home runs in 404 plate appearances last season. That OBP is hardly anything new for Cervelli, who has reached at a .370 clip or better in five of the past six seasons, with a .342 mark in 2017 serving as the lone exception.

Cervelli also halted an outstanding 39 percent of stolen-base attempts against him, though his once-superlative framing skills have checked in below the league average in each of the past two seasons, per Baseball Prospectus. He also rated below average in terms of pitch blocking in 2018.

The 35-year-old Martin is in a much different spot. He’ll make $20MM in the final season of a backloaded five-year, $82MM contract next season, and while his 15.9 percent walk rate was sensational, his overall .194/.338/.325 batting line leaves plenty to be desired. Martin was undoubtedly harmed by a .234 average on balls in play, but that’s perhaps not as unlucky as some might think at first glance.

While that .234 mark is well south of his career .283 BABIP, Martin saw his line-drive rate drop by nearly 10 percent this past season — from 23.7 percent in 2017 to 14 percent in 2018. He also posted a career-worst 19.4 percent infield-fly rate and hit the ball on the ground at a career-high 51.2 percent clip. For a 35-year-old catcher whose once-surprising speed has largely evaporated, that’s not a great trend.

Defensively, Martin’s once-excellent caught-stealing rate has waned over the past three seasons (22 percent in 2018 — six percent below the league average), but Baseball Prospectus still grades him as a premium framer and blocker.

The availability of both Cervelli and Martin only further adds to a market that has a vast supply of options but also a rather substantial amount of demand. Marlins star J.T. Realmuto is obviously the prize of the catching class but also surely comes with a substantially greater cost of acquisition than either Cervelli or Martin. Cleveland’s Yan Gomes, too, is said to be available. Free agency, meanwhile, offers the likes of Yasmani Grandal, Wilson Ramos, Martin Maldonado and Robinson Chirinos, among others.

As for demand, there’s no shortage of contenders or hopeful contenders who could use upgrades. The Dodgers, Astros, Rockies, Angels, Twins, Red Sox, Mets, Brewers and Phillies could all conceivably explore the market, as could a number of teams that are either in the midst of a rebuild or retooling process (e.g. Mariners, Tigers). And, of course, if any of Cervelli, Martin or Realmuto is moved, those catchers’ former clubs could look to the market to add a replacement option at a lower price.