It’s Russell Martin Night here on Hardball Talk. Well, unofficially.
Martin has already drawn contract offers from the Red Sox and Yankees. Now the Blue Jays have also made an offer, according to Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger, and a darkhorse team has sent in a multi-year proposal.
Martin hit just .248/.347/.342 this past year for the Dodgers, but he’s still relevant because of his past success. And because he’s claiming to be fully healed from the hip problems that have bugged him for close to two seasons.
The 27-year-old backstop was named an All-Star in 2007 and 2008, batting .286/.380/.432 with 32 total home runs, 156 RBI and 39 stolen bases over the course of those two seasons. If he can come even close to that kind of production next year, he’ll be worth the risk.
The Yankees reportedly have interest in making him their starter while Jesus Montero gets a little more time at Triple-A. If they really want to execute that plan, a two-year offer might have to be made.
