Chicago Cubs Are ‘Clear’ Leaders For Russell Martin
By Evan Massey
The Chicago Cubs are the “clear” leaders to sign catcher Russell Martin in MLB free agency.
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The Chicago Cubs are looking to spend some money in free agency this offseason, and one of their targets is veteran catcher Russell Martin. They are very serious about signing him, and he is interested in signing with the Cubs. It would be a great move for them, and would add some more pop to their lineup and a better all-around catcher behind the plate.
According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Cubs are the “clear” front-runners to sign Martin this offseason.
Martin played in 111 games last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and put together a very solid season. He compiled a .290 batting average to go along with 11 home runs and 67 RBI’s. Those numbers are very impressive for playing in 111 games, and the Cubs could really use the impact that he could make for them offensively.
Executives involved in bidding for Russell Martin believe #Cubs are clear front-runner. Deal expected to be in four-year, $64M range.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 17, 2014
Theo Epstein is hoping to get the Cubs back into playoff contention this season, and signing Martin would be a nice step in the right direction. It’s also likely that the Cubs will end up signing one of the top starting pitchers in free agency as well. That being said, locking Martin early would be a very smart move, and the contract reported in the tweet is a very solid deal.
Don’t be surprised to see the Cubs lock Martin up in the near future, but other teams are still going to keep pursuing him. At this point in time it appears that Chicago is his likely destination, but that could change quickly if another team chooses to up their offer. Martin is a very solid player, and would be a much better option at catcher than they have had in awhile.
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