Russell Martin agrees on two year $17 million deal with Pittsburgh Pirates – MLB News
New York Yankees have mostly shown interest in retaining veteran pitchers in recent weeks. However, in doing so, they ended up losing their starting catcher to Pittsburgh Pirates. Russell Martin, who displayed some top quality hitting skills for New York
in 2012, is praised for his ability to handle their Yankees’ pitching staff in his tenure with New York.
On Thursday night, Martin agreed to a two year $17 million contract with the Pirates, pending a physical. Martin’s signing has left the Yankees without a regular starting catcher with Winter Meeting scheduled to begin on Monday in Nashville.
The right hander had a decent time on the plate as he hit .211 in the past season with an excellent .311 on base percentage. According to source, the Yankees did not see him as a player worthy of making $8-9 million per year. Perhaps, that is the reason
why the Yankees did not make any effort to retain him.
Martin still hit a career best 21 home-runs for his side in 2012. It will not be easy for the Yankees to find a replacement for a player who played two consecutive seasons for the team, appearing in 258 games. In addition to being a decent hitter, Martin
is one of the most durable and reliable players in the game. He also made an All Star appearance in 2011.
Chris Stewart is one of the possible backup in-house options for the Yankees. Austin Romine, on the other hand, missed most part of the last season due to a back injury.
“I want to thank the Yankees organisation and the fans for treating me with class and respect. I will truly miss the city and people of New York,” said Martin in a tweet.
The Yankees could also consider signing a catcher from the free agency market but they have shown little interest in offensive catchers like A.J. Pierzynski, who posted one of the finest seasons of his career in 2012 with 27 home-runs.
General Manager Brian Cashman has not officially made an offer to any free agent player as he spends most of his time working out deals with pitchers Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte.
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