Bruce Levine reports that the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays are all still in on free agent catcher Russell Martin, and that all four teams believe he is a major difference maker.
Cubs -Pirates -Dodgers -Toronto all still in the mix for Russell Martin All believe he is a major difference maker ,handling the game
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) November 13, 2014
The Pirates just added Francisco Cervelli, so it appears they’re setting up for a scenario where they will be without Martin. Based on his asking price, and the fact that the Cubs and Dodgers are in the bidding, I think it’s likely that he will end up outside of their price range. Jon Heyman pointed out the similarities between this situation, and what they did last year with Edinson Volquez and A.J. Burnett.
Pirates acquisition of cervelli doesn't change pursuit of russell martin. They are still in on martin.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 13, 2014
Last year, pirates signed volquez as they waited on aj burnett. This year, same thing. Cervelli is very good insurance.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 13, 2014
As I wrote tonight, I don’t see Martin coming back to the Pirates. I think Cervelli and Chris Stewart will be the catchers, with Tony Sanchez serving as the number three catcher. But that’s assuming that Martin is out of the four-year, $60 M price range that I think the Pirates could afford. It would be interesting to see what happens if the other teams don’t meet his demands. I just don’t think that’s likely.
If the Pirates don’t sign Martin, they’ll have a lot of money left over to upgrade at other positions. And as I wrote Tuesday night, they will need to do just that in order to make up for the value they’d lose by going from Martin to Cervelli/Stewart.
UPDATE 1:21 PM: Ken Rosenthal also says they’re still in on Martin, and that Cervelli is insurance if Martin signs elsewhere.
#Pirates not out on Martin after acquiring Cervelli. Just need to protect themselves. #Cubs in. #Dodgers may be, too. Reality of market.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 13, 2014
My earlier comments about Martin signing with the Pirates still stand. It seems unlikely to happen with the asking price and the other teams involved.
