Blue Jays sign Russell Martin

[revo]

for "Brian McCann money" as per Gammons

[Moonlight J]

5 years, $82M per Rosenthal

[Gregg]

Rats!!

What happened to the 4/64 that he was taking from the Cubs?

Rats!!

Well, maybe we can now spend more on pitching?

[Moonlight J]

Can't believe he got that cash...insane

[joncarlos]

Hmmm. Can't really blame the Pirates for staying away from that. Wonder if they tried to extend him during the season or anything?

[Gregg]

Can't believe he got that cash...insane

Yeah, I was posting at the same time you were posting the contract/cash. Given these circumstances I am glad the Cubs passed.

[Moonlight J]

Let's not forget, Toronto threw Yan Gomes into a trade to Cleveland.

Now?

[Controller Jacobs]

Way too much, Toronto looks desperate. Navarro has provided similar offense the last two seasons; they must think Martin can bring magic to their pitching.

[joncarlos]

So 2 years ago the Yankees were dumb enough to let him go. Supposedly Martin was looking for 4/40 or something like that. They lived through a year of Stewart and Cervelli and then paid Brian McCann 5/90.

Martin would only give the Pirates 2 years because he wanted to get back into free agency. Now he gets 5/82 and gets replaced by Cervelli/Stewart again.

[TranaGreg]

mixed feelings. we always have had to overpay to get free agents to come north of the border. besides, the market is so crazy that the numbers are almost meaningless. Mind you I'm not crazy about any catcher at 5 years, esp. someone who batted .290 last year - and .226, .211, and .237 before that.

now I'm chanelling Gregg earlier when Martin was rumored to go to the Cubs ... as long as this doesn't prevent the Jays from spending money on other priorities ...

I wonder if they've got something big in the works that includes Navarro.

[madducks]

That is some huge money to be paying a catcher in his age 35-36 seasons. Oh well, Pirates get the extra draft pick now. If Liriano signs elsewhere, the Pirates will end up with 4 draft picks in the first 2 rounds.

[Hornsby]

That is just a downright dopey contract, especially on that turf in Toronto. Let's not forget that Martin is a guy who have a 5 year run where his highest BA was .250, and his low was a paltry .211. Color me unimpressed with AA panicking like this...

[Moonlight J]

Way too much, Toronto looks desperate. Navarro has provided similar offense the last two seasons; they must think Martin can bring magic to their pitching.

Martin is one of the best receivers in the game. Navarro is decent, but he's nowhere near Martin.

[joncarlos]

So right now the Jays are projected to play Navarro at DH? Will they keep him around or trade him?

[TranaGreg]

So right now the Jays are projected to play Navarro at DH? Will they keep him around or trade him?

word is mostly DH, giving Martin a couple of days off from behind the plate per week. Though I'm sure that he's on the table in any trade discussions.