Over the past decade, the Toronto Blue Jays have experienced both the highs of playoff baseball and the lows of rebuilding the roster from the ground up.
Since 2010, the Toronto Blue Jays have seen their lineup turn over a few times.
There was the Blue Jays-Marlins trade in 2012, as well as the trade for R.A. Dickey with the New York Mets, and the prospect development of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette over the past few years.
In 2015 and 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays made the playoffs, but unfortunately did not reach the World Series in each of those attempts.
While the team is now currently in a rebuild with a younger core, there have been some bright spots in the lineup this past decade.
Russell Martin, Catcher
- 2015 – 2018 (4 seasons)
- 1x All-Star (2015)
- 66 home runs; 211 RBI’s
- 99 OPS+; 7.7 bWAR
- 447 games
Russell Martin signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in the off-season of 2014/2015 on a 5 year, $82 million dollar contract.
Known for his defensive abilities and his veteran leadership, Martin’s best year in Toronto came in 2015, where he would slash .240/.329/.458 with 23 home runs, 77 RBI, and an OPS of 112. As the seasons wore on, the Blue Jays would use Martin around the horn as well, putting him at third base on the odd occasion, as well as in the outfield for a few spot starts.
The one thing that made Martin special on the Blue Jays roster is that he was Canadian, speaking French during interviews when necessary, and interacting with Canadian fans regularly. There are not too many Canadian baseball players in the MLB, and to have a prolific player like Martin play on Canada’s only team was quite special for fans across the country.
Martin would be traded during the 2018/2019 off-season to the Los Angeles Dodgers, making way for the younger catching prospects to take over the full time duties.