Yankees Get Their Man

Sort of.  Ok, not at all, really.  But they did get someone who could be a rather important piece to their 2011 team. 

The Yankees and Russell Martin have agreed to what is believe to be a one year contract.  Terms of the deals have not been disclosed.  As long as Martin passes the physical (no guarantee), the Yankees would have him controlled for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.

This is a good move by Brian Cashman and the Yankees.  Martin stabilizes a fairly unstable catching situation in New York.  While I've read a couple of reports questioning Martin's game calling skills, he has a good reputation behind the plate.  Martin's plate discipline and ability to get on base should fit in nicely in the Yankee lineup.  Really, the only problems I can see for Martin are (a) his hip not being fully healed thus making it difficult for him to catch 120-140 games a year, and (b) that his power/slugging ability either plateaus or continues to decline.  If he proves he can neither catch 120-140 games, nor improve his power numbers, Martin could very well see him in the same position next year as he was just recently--non-tendered. 

This move looks pretty solid for the Yankees.  Considering the amount of money likely involved ($5M or less), the move is pretty low risk even if it doesn't work out.  Cashman deserves a lot of credit for identifying an undervalued asset.

Russell Martin In Serious Discussions with Three AL East Teams

UPDATE (12/9/2010 at 6:00 pm):  The Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox consider Martin "strictly a catcher," not a utility player.

Original Post (12/9/2010 at 5:10 pm):  We have an update from the Russell Martin front.  Earlier today, his agent said that he is in "serious" discussions with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays.  The Dodgers are interested in bringing him back, but presumably only in a utility role.  They've recently signed Rod Barajas and Dionner Navarro to play catcher.

Gordon Edes reports that the Red Sox have gone as far as to submit an official offer.  Buster Olney confirmed the offer.  Sources close to the negotiations have indicated the Red Sox are the front runners at this point.  Terms of the offer have not been disclosed, but I imagine it would be for one year.

I only have one question:  where would he play?  Martin has indicated he wants to play catcher.  The Red Sox already have Saltalamacchia and Varitek at the catcher position.  If Martin signs, it could be the beginning of the end for Varitek in Boston.

Martin to Head East?

According to Buster Olney, Russell Martin has quite the stable of suitors.  The Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays have all indicated interest in the 26 year old catcher, and are currently examining his medical records. 

This seems like an ideal fit for the Yankees.  A few weeks ago, the Yankees announced long time catcher Jorge Posada would be their primary DH in 2011.  At the time, the team seemed content going into Spring Training with career backup Francisco Cervelli, and prospects Jesus Montero and Austin Romine fighting for the starting job.  Considering the Yankees goal of winning a championship every year, this didn't seem like a plan that would stick for too long.  Cervelli's not a starter.  Romine looks like he's the long term solution at the position, but he hasn't played a game above AA yet.  Montero, while he excelled in AAA, could probably use a season to transition to the major leagues.  This is where Martin would come in.  Martin could tutor Montero throughout the season, and allow him to ease into the role as starting catcher.  Additionally, with Martin's versatility, he could occasionally fill in elsewhere when one of the other starters needs an off day.  It makes too much sense for the Yankees not to go after Martin.  The only way it wouldn't make sense is if they found something on his medical reports (i.e. his hip) that scared them away.

The Blue Jays are also an excellent fit.  Currently, they have Jose Molina and J.P. Arencibia holding down the catcher spot.  Molina is a clear backup.  Arencibia, in all likelihood, needs another season of development before stepping into be a 120 start per season catcher.  Like with Yankees, Martin would be able to fill a similar role in Toronto.  Additionally, with the way the ball has been flying out of the stadium formerly known as the Sky Dome over the last couple of seasons, Martin might be able to recapture some of the power he lost some time in 2008. 

The Red Sox, on the other hand, don't appear to be a great fit--at least not if Martin is insistent on playing catcher.  They already have Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek signed for next season.  If they're going to carry both catchers AND Martin going to Spring Training, it's likely either Salty or Varitek (probably Tek) would be released by Opening Day.  If Martin is amenable to playing the super utility role (a la Bill Hall), I can see his acquisition working out in Boston.

Martin will get his fair share of offers, and he'll likely be a tremendous bargain/value where ever he signs.  My money is on the Yankees picking him up.  Then again, that's my standard answer any time the Yankees are involved.  Either way, he'd be a good pick up for pretty much any team with hopes of contending.  Anytime you can get a 2.0-2.5 WAR player at a discount, you have to do it.

Misery in Dodgertown...Compliments of Ned Colletti

When Colletti gets fired as GM of the Dodgers, at least he might have a career in porn.  Great mustache!

Congratulations, Dodger fans!  I'm sorry.  It looks like your bumbling Brian Sabean disciple of a General Manager has screwed up again.  This time, he's decided Rod Barajas is worth signing to a one year $3.25M contract.  Oops!  It seems the apple doesn't fall far from the Brian Sabean tree.  Colletti, also, seems to have a penchant for signing players in their mid-30s who are past their primes.  (See Ted Lilly, Juan Uribe)

In case you're wondering, this is the same Rod Barajas who just turned 35, plays his position (catcher) poorly, and has a career .298 wOBA despite hitting for power.  Not good.  Russell Martin has been pretty disappointing over the past couple of years, but he hasn't been Rod Barajas bad.  

Ultimately, this comes down to value produced versus value spent.  Russell Martin is in his third and final season of arbitration eligibility.  In 2010, he made $5.05M, and was probably in line for a raise to around $7M in 2011.  While this might seem like a lot for a player that has a slugging percentage in the .300s over the past three seasons, he carries a tremendous amount of value in other areas: position difficulty, defense, durability, and on base abilities.  Looking at his last three seasons of WAR values, it's a pretty safe bet to assume Martin's 2011 value will be around 2.0-2.5 wins above the replacement level.  Convert this number into salary dollars, and Martin would provide $8-10M in performance based value.  In other words, he'd produce more value (WAR) that he'd consume (salary), thus making his contract a positive one for the Dodgers to carry.  

With the exception of power, Barajas has very little to offer the Dodgers.*   Looking at his last three seasons of WAR values, it's pretty safe to assume that his value will be around 0.8-1.3 wins above the replacement.  In other words, he's not good enough to be a starting position player.  While this means he'd likely outplay his contract (performance based value of $3-5M), he's still not a better bet than Martin.  Considering Barajas's age and the physically demanding position he's being asked to play, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him fail to meet those expectations. 

* I think Colletti is trying to put together a team that will finish last in OBP and first in outs created.  So far, he's replaced Theriot (.348 career OBP) with Uribe (.300); Martin (.365) with Barajas (.284); and Ramirez (.411) with Gibbons (.313).  Yikes!  That's a lot of outs right there.

So why did Ned Colletti non-tender Martin?  Well, based on the contracts he's given out over the past few years, I'm not sure he knows how to properly value players.  If he did, he would've realized that while a 28 year old Martin costs more money, he's also a much safer bet to provide positive marginal value than the 35 year old Barajas.  He probably also wouldn't have given 3 years and $21M to a utility infielder like Juan Uribe.

This is just another example of Colletti's incompetence.  Luckily for him, the Dodgers ownership situation is even more dysfunctional.  Their attention is so focused on protecting their assets during divorce proceedings that they haven't had time to notice the damage Colletti is doing to the team's long-term health.