4 more years?
This winter Russell Martin will be entering his final year of arbitration before becoming a full fledged free agent in 2012. But if Yankee GM Brian Cashman has his way, the first string Yankee Catcher will be wearing pinstripes for the foreseeable future. This may appear at first blush to be a departure from the ‘Yankees don’t do extensions’ policy, but as a 3rd year arbitration player the team has an opportunity to buy out some FA years and save some money, which often isn’t the case with pending free agents. The NY Daily News has the report:
Russell Martin was so good last season that Brian Cashman said the catcher was “Thurman Munson-like” and the GM is open to discussing a multi-year deal for the backstop, who is under club control for next season.
What does that mean for Jesus Montero?
It’s unclear, although Cashman said he believed Montero could “be catching for us, a DH for us, a lethal bat off the bench for us” in 2012.
“All of the above,” Cashman said. “He’s a very talented young player that we feel can have an impact at the major-league level now. The tools he has provide us those choices. I guess it depends how the rest of our roster goes.”
The implications of a long term extension for Martin are fairly obvious. It signals to GMs with a need that other Catchers on the Yankee 40 man roster and those in the upper levels of the farm system are available to be discussed in prospective trade deals. That would mean Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli and Austin Romine are all on the table in a suitable deal. Of course, the Yankees will need a backup Catcher of their own, so at least one of them will need to stick around. Traditionally, the backup role goes to a defensive specialist, given the dearth of good hitting Catchers and the needs of the team. But given that Martin is a defense-first Catcher himself who hits enough to be your first string receiver, you could argue that the Yanks could carry Montero as their backup and regular DH. But there’s one major flaw in this line of thinking. Should Martin get hurt and be disabled for an extended period of time, you will need someone who can adequately field the position on an everyday basis. From what I saw of Montero last year I don’t think anywhere near being ready to catch everyday. Especially someone like AJ Burnett or David Robertson that have nasty hooks, or facing an opponent that likes to run the bases. In those instances, a poor defender can cost you games. That’s before we get into the nuances of Catching such as pitch framing that can have a more subtle (but important) impact.
There’s a second angle to extending Martin. If Montero makes big strides as a defender or a lower level prospect like Gary Sanchez or Isaias Tejeda moves quickly, you could always trade Martin down the road to a team that needs an everyday Catcher. Never forget that good everyday Catchers are exceedingly rare, and therefore worth a lot on the trade market. His injury history should keep the number of years on an extension down to a reasonable number (I would estimate 3 or 4) so extending him doesn’t signal a death knell to every catcher in the Yankee system, but it does have some impact on the immediate needs of the MLB club and may provide a window into how the Yanks plan on approaching this offseason.
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I don’t like this idea. Started off incredible at the plate, but really, really tailed off after that. Maybe it’s just confirmation bias, but he seemed to turn into an automatic double play by the end of the season.
His defense, on the other hand, really is superb. I love his intensity behind the plate (we saw that with a few blocks this year), and the pitchers seem to like working with him – I never see them shaking him off too much, especially CC and Nova.
But an extension? Maybe it’s a decent idea as an insurance policy – we’ll have him cheaper for a few years, or trade him with an attractive salary.
Great catcher streaky at bat , I already miss the hey day of Posada bat!!
Steve, what you say makes sense. I just don’t know that I’d be willing to go 4 years on an extension. Do you think 2 extension through 2014 and a club option 3rd year (2015) might fly with Martin? That could be the best of both worlds. It gives Martin some security considering his injury past and gives the Yankees some wiggle room to trade him if it turns out that way. Just curious what you think?
sorry should read “…Do you think a 2 year extension….”
2 years would be optimal for the team, but I doubt Martin would go for it. Effectively you’re only buying out 1 year or FA, so if I’m Martin I need more than that or I’ll just wait a year. Both sides have to be comfortable with the deal, so 3-4 years sounds about right to me.
Not to mention it makes no sense for him to give away a club option at this point. He’s going to want guaranteed years with his history.
Thank you, Cash. I think Martin, and I have been saying this for months, is their
I don’t like the idea of a 3-4 year extension for Martin because his offense is suspect and he does have a troubling injury history. I would offer 2 years and only go higher if necessary. In 2 years the Yankees will know a lot more about what they have in Montero, Romine and Sanchez and can recalibrate Martin’s worth.
Yes, this might cost more $$$ down the road but I think the risk of Martin’s offense declining to the point where he’s a liability or his suffering a major injury that makes him unable to catch is equally high.
I would say a catcher who plays some of the best defense at the position, and hits 18 HRs is far from a liability. Any time I read anything on Martin it becomes amazingly clear how underrated he is with the fan base, thanks to the percieved value placed on the offensive catcher. I guess having Posada for so long has numbed many to what a bad defensive catcher (who isn’t almost HoF on his bat) does to your wins and losses.
Cool, sign him up. I agree on the value of defense at catcher to the point of ignoring the bat, although Russell does his damage, in a streaky (small injury related?) way.
In a year where Brian C panned a fistful of nuggets out of the gravel pit, none was more impactful than Martin. And anybody who looks objectively at the patchwork collection of characters who took the mound last season in both our rotation and pen and doesn’t give a huge scoop of the credit for their success to Martin is in denial. He had the 5th lowest ERA and 6th highest caught stealing percentage among catchers. And yeah, his hitting may have nosedived as the season wore on, but he consistently put his bat on the ball and into play. His OPS was just out of the top 10 among catchers with 400 AB (his past history shows he’s clearly capable of better) and at 28, he’s just entering his playing prime. Heck, he even led catchers in SB. His last surgery appears to have fixed his recurring past health problems. He’s also clearly left his past character issues behind from all reports and is one of the hardest-working guys in our clubhouse.
He’s a young, quick, athletic former AS with a cannon arm, calls a great game, gets the best out of pitchers on a team where pitching is the most glaring problem, proved he’s durable, isn’t a major liability at the plate and can be reasonably expected to improve. Sorry, but I don’t see a problem here.
I’m with Steve. Lock him up. Screw the kids in Double A. Whatever else we do with Romine, Montero and Cervelli, Martin’s gold and I think we’ve only glimpsed his upside, IMHO.
It’s a fine idea. It looks like Montero’s highest calling is as a DH and BUC, relieving Martin 35-40 gms/year. This will keep Martin fresh, and allow us to have Montero Catch with selected pitchers (ie: with good control) and against selected teams (ie: who don’t run a lot).
When our BUC (Montero) Catches, our offense might be better then when he’s the DH, as you swap Martin’s bat for a Jones/Chavez/other DH type bat.
It also preserves Montero’s bat, as already guys like Mauer are being weaned off Catching. Piazza held up pretty well, but having an elite Bat as an everyday Catcher is basically shortening his career. Plus our depth at C gives us plenty of backup protection, as well as a trade chip if we need one.
From what I’ve read, Gary Sanchez may be even better (all around) then Montero. Elite bat, decent Catching skills. He’s 3 or 4 years away, but it’s great to have such depth at the Catcher position.
I like Martin. He wears Pinstripes well.
Well said. Agree on all points.
Why was Martin’s dWAR negative last season?
why not get yaldier molina?