Russell

Martin

Martin last appeared in the majors with the Dodgers back in 2019. The four-time All-Star selection spent 14 years in the majors from 2006 to 2019 and officially wraps up a career that included stints with the Dodgers, Yankees, Pirates and Blue Jays. One of the most athletically-gifted catchers of his era, and one of the first pitch-framing specialists to receive recognition for his abilities, he finishes with a .248/.349/.397 triple-slash line to go along with 191 home runs and 101 stolen bases in 1,693 games.

Morosi adds, however, that the veteran catcher is “keeping open the possibility of playing in the future.” Martin, who turns 38 years old in February, batted just .220/.337/.330 with six home runs and 20 RBI over 83 games with the Dodgers in 2019 before failing to latch on with a team for the condensed 2020 campaign.

Heyman adds, however, that Martin is holding out for an offer from a team he considers to be a contender. The 37-year-old veteran hit .220/.337/.330 with six home runs in 83 games last season with the Dodgers.

Martin is now 37 and has been a well below average hitter for a few years. However, he’s viewed as a good clubhouse guy and the Giants are thin at catcher if they don’t want to hand the job to Joey Bart yet. Martin makes sense as an adequate fill-in.

Martin is likely to overtake Dioner Navarro before the end of next season. He’s hitting .315/.433/.420 in 343 AB in the Southern League.

Martin has indicated that he wants to play in 2020, but has turned down opportunities to tend to a family matter. Heyman reports that there are other teams also interested in the backstop, who would likely operate as a backup after hitting .220/.337/.330 in 80 games with the Dodgers in 2019.

The 36-year-old catcher has turned down a couple of opportunities to tend to a family matter, but is expected to be back in the market and will resume talks with interested teams in the next few weeks. Martin slashed just .220/.337/.330 in 80 games with the Dodgers during the 2019 campaign.

Martin turns 37 years old in February and there had been some speculation that he might retire after the 2019 season, but Heyman writes that he “is working out already” and “remains hungry.” The veteran catcher slashed .220/.337/.330 in 83 regular-season games this past year with the Dodgers. In his one start behind the plate in the postseason -- NLDS Game 3 against the Nationals -- he drove in four runs with a double and a homer.

Martin watched as rookie Will Smith started behind the plate for the first two games of the series, but with Hyun-Jin Ryu on the mound the veteran got the call. He answered it, guiding Ryu through five innings while also providing a spark for the Dodgers offense. It was his two-run double into the gap in left-center field that kicked off a seven-run sixth inning against Patrick Corbin and company, and Martin capped the scoring with a two-run homer off Nats reliever Hunter Strickland in the ninth. What a big performance at an important time by the 36-year-old.

Martin caught 20 of Hyun-Jin Ryu’s 29 starts this year, and with Ryu on the hill for Sunday’s contest it’s his de facto personal catcher behind the plate. His at-bat will be the first in this year’s postseason, with Will Smith having started the first two games post-dish for the Dodgers. The rest of the Dodgers lineup against Nats starter Anibal Sanchez: RF Joc Pederson; 1B Max Muncy; 3B Justin Turner; CF Cody Bellinger; SS Corey Seager; LF A.J. Pollock; 2B Gavin Lux; Martin and Ryu.