The Toronto Blue Jays have signed free-agent catcher Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million deal, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Martin is currently undergoing his physical before his signing with the Blue Jays becomes official, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports (via twitter).
Martin was no doubt the best available catcher in free agency this offseason. The 31-year-old is coming off a brilliant 2014 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he hit .290/.402/.430 with 11 home runs, 67 RBI and 45 runs scored.
Defensively, Martin gunned down 39 percent of base stealers last season and had a dWAR of 2.0 in 2014, according to baseball-reference.com. He won a gold glove in 2007 and finished as a finalist for the award in 2014. Martin also has the reputation of being a solid pitch framer behind the plate and has plenty of experience when it comes to handling a pitching staff.
By signing Martin, Toronto will now have to forfeit its first-round pick during the 2015 MLB draft.
While this is the biggest free-agency signing Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has made in his career, it does come with risks and questions.
For starters, Martin will be 32 years old on Opening Day next season. How will his body hold up playing on turf during the duration of the deal? Martin has recently stayed relatively healthy though, averaging 124 games played between the 2011-2014 seasons.
Acquiring Martin also raises questions about catcher Dioner Navarro’s future with Toronto. Navarro had a solid year with the Blue Jays during the 2014 season, hitting .274/.317/.395 with 12 home runs, 69 RBI and 40 runs scored in 139 games.
With Martin in the fold—and the trade of designated hitter Adam Lind—the switch-hitting Navarro could slide over into the now-empty DH spot in the lineup. Toronto could also look to trade the 30-year-old in order to shore up other areas of weakness on the team.
Martin has also played 18 games at third base in his career and could possibly see some time at the position with the Blue Jays in an emergency.
The biggest question with Martin will be determining if he can replicate his 2014 numbers at the plate next season. It’s worth noting that the right-handed hitter’s slash line between the 2009-2013 seasons was .234/.332/.370 (and his OPS during that span was just .702).
Stats and numbers aside, there’s no doubt that a major move like this helps the Blue Jays in other ways. By signing one of the top free agents on the market, Toronto has changed how it’s perceived by the rest of the league and its fan base. With the Blue Jays being the only MLB team in Canada, it also doesn’t hurt to add a top Canadian player to the team’s roster.
Martin has also always been recognized as a leader and a positive presence in the clubhouse. During his nine seasons in the majors, his teams have gone to the playoffs seven times. With a playoff drought that has now reached 21 seasons, it’s important for the Blue Jays to add players who have a track record of success.
This move is just the latest during what has been a very busy offseason for Anthopoulos. The general manager also recently traded away outfielder Anthony Gose for second base prospect Devon Travis, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. It will be interesting to see what other moves the Blue Jays will make this offseason in order to become competitive next season.
*All stats are from baseball-reference.com
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