Pittsburgh Pirates unlikely to re-sign Russell Martin in offseason
By Josh Hill
The Pittsburgh Pirates are still chasing the playoffs, but one of their players may be chasing something else very soon. Catcher Russell Martin is having some of the best years of his career right now and as a result, he’s likely to get paid accordingly this winter.
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Martin isn’t the best catcher in the league, but the depressed market that is being set up already will likely see the Pirates catcher pick up a nice contract over the offseason. The only question is, will the Pirates be the ones paying him his fat contract or will another team like the Rangers swoop in?
According to MLB scribe Steve Adams, the chances that Martin is back with the Pirates in 2015 aren’t all that high considering what he will be getting on the open market.
"Doubtful. I can see Martin flirting with $40MM this offseason, which would be too rich for Pittsburgh. They’ll get a draft pick out of him anyway, since he’ll be a lock to reject a QO."
Pittsburgh is at least getting something for Martin in the draft pick, but a return shouldn’t be totally ruled out until Martin has done so. The bottom line is that Martin is going to want to cash in on his success and while $40 million is too rich for the Pirates, the catching market is hardly bustling this winter.
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