Fansided

Perfect fits for 5 remaining MLB free agents, including Yasiel Puig

By Ryan Morik

Yasiel Puig, Cleveland Indians. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Yasiel Puig, Cleveland Indians. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 06: Russell Martin #55 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates as he the bases after hitting a two run home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 06, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 06: Russell Martin #55 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates as he the bases after hitting a two run home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 06, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Russell Martin — New York Yankees

The Yankees need to be realistic — as talented as Gary Sanchez is offensively, he has missed considerable time in three consecutive seasons.

Sanchez has a 162-game pace of 46 home runs over his career. The problem is he has never played more than 122 games in his career.

It is safe to assume that Sanchez will hit the shelf again, and Kyle Higashioka, a lifetime .164 hitter in 146 at bats, will not get the job done as an everyday catcher in that scenario.

Austin Romine signed with the Tigers in the offseason, leaving the Yankees in need of a legitimate backup catcher. Martin, a former Yankee, would play that role perfectly.

Martin has been primarily backup in the last three seasons, and owns a .690 OPS in that stretch, while hitting .211. That’s a drop off from Romine’s .730 OPS in the previous two seasons, but the 14-year veteran is still a better option than Higashioka.

Plus, the Yankee fans screaming “Martin should play over Sanchez” sounds a lot better than “Higsashioka should play over Sanchez.” At least more people will actually believe themselves saying the former.

In all seriousness though, in any Sanchez absence, Martin can provide decent defense while still having some pop in his bat, especially in Yankee Stadium.

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