After numerous reports claiming that the Chicago Cubs were in the lead to obtain the services of catcher Russell Martin, the Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly agreed to a five year contract with the all-star catcher Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports. Peter Gammons was the first to report that the two sides had agreed to a deal with Ken Rosenthal reporting the value of the contract being $82 million.
The signing officially concludes Martin’s two year tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Martin came over to the Pirates as a free agent following the 2012 season, due to the New York Yankees not wanting to pay top dollar to retain him.
Martin, 31, is coming off of arguably his best season in the majors in 2014, a season in which his clutch play and leadership propelled the Pirates to their second consecutive playoff birth. Overall on the season, Martin batted .290/.402/.430 with 11 home runs and 67 runs batted in through 111 games. Despite nagging injuries costing Martin playing time, he was able to record the highest on-base percentage (.402) in his career, while helping guide an inexperienced pitching staff.
The Canadian native finds his way home north of the border after having bounced around from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yankees, and Pirates during his 9 year career. The Blue Jays reportedly had interest in Martin during both of his previous stints as a free agent, although no deal was ever agreed upon.
With official terms of the deal confirmed , Martin will be receiving a contract comparable to that of Brian McCann, who signed with the Yankees last offseason for five years, $85 million.
Despite Martin not having the home run capabilities of McCann, his defensive prowess and offensive attributes, capable of getting on base at a high rate and relatively low strikeout tendencies, Martin should be able to fit in with his hometown Blue Jays seamlessly as the team looks to compete for an AL East title.