Pirates Sign Russell Martin

In case you missed it, the Pittsburgh Pirates outbid the New York Yankees for catcher Russell Martin.

Martin signed for two years and $17M, after hitting .211 with 21 HR for the Yankees. From the Washington Post:

“There is a lot to like about Russell,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. “He handles a pitching staff well, he calls a good game, he throws well, he is capable of hitting the ball out of the ballpark. We’re very excited to be able to add him to our club.”

Well.

First things first: I’ve always liked Russell Martin. To me he was a fairly good receiver with decent throwing skills, but most importantly, took charge of the infield and handled pitchers well. He used to be more athletic, but some hip and leg issues have limited his mobility; he’s average or maybe below average in blocking balls, and he doesn’t run the bases as well as he used to.

Offensively, Martin provides more pop than the average catcher, and though his batting average took a nosedive over the last five years, he still draws his share of walks — enough to keep his OBP over .300 and OPS over .700.

But $17M for two years? Wow. I didn’t think he was worth that much. The Mets surely could have used Martin behind the plate in ’13 and ’14, but not at that price.

Though he hit 39 homers over the past two seasons, but the Pirates shouldn’t expect to see that kind of production. Two major factors heavily influenced Martin’s homerun total: being in an All-Star lineup filled with sluggers, and the short right field porch in Yankee Stadium. After facing the likes of Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira, pitchers tended to mentally “let up” when the little fireplug came to the plate — and Martin was able to hit the mistakes. Further, the righthanded-hitting Martin blasted ten homeruns to the opposite field in 2012 — all came at Yankee Stadium. Put Martin into a comparatively weak Pittsburgh lineup, playing half his games in Pittsburgh, and my bet is he’ll hit somewhere around 8 homers in 2013 — not enough to justify $8M – $9M.

Still, that’s what Martin will be getting, which means the price of adequate catching just went up. How does this deal affect A.J. Pierzynski, who is a better hitter and about as good as Martin behind the plate? Heck, how about Kelly Shoppach, who projects to hit with the same or more power and be similar defensively?

The Mets certainly need a catcher, but if the cost to get someone of Russell Martin’s ilk is going to cost more than $15M over two years, I’m not sure it’s worth it.

What say you? Would you have signed Martin to that kind of deal? Do you think he’ll perform in Pittsburgh? Answer in the comments.