Martin ready to lead Jays
DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Pirates’ mid-November acquisition of catcher Francisco Cervelli signaled their realization of what was rapidly coming to light: The market for Russell Martin was reaching a point at which they were not comfortable.
Martin saw it another way.
“I was almost relieved,” he said Tuesday. “I was like, ‘OK, there’s a guy who can actually do some things defensively and kind of fill in.’ “
About a week after the Pirates acquired Cervelli, Martin signed a five-year, $82 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays that returned him to his native Canada. The 32-year-old catcher will make $20 million per year in 2017, 2018 and 2019, when he will be 34, 35 and 36 - top-tier salaries for a player in his mid-30s, a move not prominently featured in the Pirates’ playbook.
“The opportunity to play in Canada, for my family to be able to watch me play, to be a role model for younger Canadians and be that guy, it’s a better fit for me overall for that reason,” Martin said while the Pirates faced the Blue Jays in their Grapefruit League opener Tuesday.
Martin spent two seasons in Pittsburgh and performed well enough in his second one to cast himself among the best free agents available. He hit .290 with a .402 on-base percentage and provided incalculable value on defense and in handling the pitching staff. Martin’s two years coincided with the Pirates breaking their streak of consecutive losing seasons and making the playoffs two years in a row, and the team tried to retain him.
“They were going to do everything they could,” Martin said. “They were pretty vocal about that. But then it comes to a point where, as an organization, if you’re thinking business-wise, you can’t stack all your chips and then leave yourself vulnerable for later.”
Martin acknowledged that the fifth year on the contract aided his decision, but did not divulge how the Pirates’ offer compared, except that it was for less money.
“Financially, it seemed like it was going to be too much for them, and they made a business decision to go another direction,” he said. “They were pretty vocal, and I think that they definitely wanted me back. It was just a feeling that Toronto wanted me a little bit more.”
Though Martin grew up in Montreal, he was born in East York, Ontario, about a 20-minute drive from the Rogers Centre. As a kid, he watched the 1992-93 Blue Jays, who won consecutive World Series titles with John Olerud, Joe Carter and Jack Morris. He joined a Toronto roster with established offensive stars Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion in addition to promising young pitchers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez.
“I feel like one of my strengths is to work with young pitching and help them reach their full potential,” Martin said. “We all have our work to do. But there’s definitely some talent.”
Martin reflected fondly upon his time with the Pirates, which included at least three memorable moments: Holding the ball aloft at Wrigley Field when the Pirates clinched their first playoff berth in 20 years; homering in the 2013 wild-card game off Johnny Cueto after Cueto dropped the ball with the crowd chanting his name; and hitting a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth off the Milwaukee Brewers’ Jonathan Broxton as the Pirates chased a playoff berth this past September.
“I never felt as appreciated as I was in Pittsburgh, by the fans, by the organization, by my teammates,” he said. “The recognition I got from the fans at the end there, we’re getting crushed in the wild-card game, and the fans are pretty much giving me almost a standing ovation. That was pretty special.”
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