Francisco Liriano, Russell Martin reject Pirates’ qualifying offers

According to multiple reports, a pair of players who that spent the 2014 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates – left-hander Francisco Liriano and catcher Russell Martin – have declined their respective $15.3 million qualifying offers, meaning they will be free agents this offseason.

Liriano, 31, followed up a 2013 season in which he finished ninth in National League Cy Young balloting with a 7-10 mark with a 3.38 ERA across 29 starts for the Pirates. In 162 1/3 innings of work, the southpaw notched 175 strikeouts, while walking 81 batters. He missed the season’s first month with an oblique strain – which kept him from breaking the 30-start plateau.

His battery mate, Martin, is one of the hottest commodities already this offseason, with several teams – namely the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays – joining the Pirates as suitors for the catcher, who is reportedly seeking a five-year deal.

Last season was one of the best of Martin’s career. He slashed .290/.402/.430 across 111 games for the Pirates, while also catching 38 percent of would-be base-stealers. Just one year after leading the young Pittsburgh pitching staff to a winning season and a postseason berth for the first time in years, he once again established his reputation as one of the game’s premier game-callers behind the dish for Clint Hurdle this year.

In his career, Martin is a career .259 hitter across nine seasons and his breakout offensive campaign in 2014, which also included 67 RBIs – his highest single-season total since 2008 – has led to several teams seeking his services.

Pittsburgh has had dialogue with Martin, but whether or not they will stretch their resources to keep him in the Steel City remains to be seen. All twelve players who received the $15.3 million qualifying offer this season declined.