Ken Rosenthal reports that the Chicago Cubs are the clear front-runner for catcher Russell Martin. That is according to executives that are involved in the bidding for Martin. The believed price is in the $64 M over four years range. That $16 M per year price is around the estimates that we have heard for Martin, though he was said to be seeking a five-year deal.
Executives involved in bidding for Russell Martin believe #Cubs are clear front-runner. Deal expected to be in four-year, $64M range.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 17, 2014
Update 8:35 AM: Rosenthal added late last night that the Blue Jays shouldn’t be counted out just yet because they were said to be going after Victor Martinez and were willing to spend the money to get him away from the Tigers. Martinez hasn’t been a full-time catcher since 2010, so he would have filled a different need for the Blue Jays, but we have heard often that they are one of the teams in the mix for Martin. It could be that Martinez was their main target and now they may move on to Martin, so don’t count the Cubs as a done deal yet.
Caveat to earlier report on #Cubs as leader for Martin: #BlueJays still could be in mix. #Tigers feared TOR would outbid them for VMart.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 17, 2014
