According to General Manager Neal Huntington, the Pirates have already made their biggest move of the offseason in signing catcher Russell Martin to a two-year, $17 million deal. Martin was considered the top free agent catcher, and with the catcher position being the Pirates biggest hole going into the offseason, it made sense for the Pirates to pursue and sign Martin. At first, the two-year, $17 million deal seemed slightly pricey for the numbers that Martin has put up, but after Mike Napoli's three-year, $39 million signing with the Red Sox, the Martin signing looks much more fair to the Pirates.
Another option that the Pirates could have explored to find a catcher was through a trade. Many teams are understandably hesitant to trade their young catchers, which leads to a consistently difficult trading market for the position. The Blue Jays are a team that could have been a good trade partner for the Pirates because they have a surplus of catchers at the major league level. The Blue Jays plan on top prospect Travis D'Arnaud to take over the starting catcher role in 2013, and they have JP Arencibia and recently acquired John Buck behind him on the depth chart. Arencibia would have been a great trade option for the Pirates, as he is a young player that has hit for plenty of power at the major league level. But, the Blue Jays seem to be intent on keeping all of their catchers. And outside of Travis D'Arnaud, there are very few top catching prospects in the minors that could provide an instant impact at the Major League level, and the price of those players would most likely be too high for the Pirates.
With the signing of Russell Martin, the catching tandem for the 2013 Pirates is now set. Michael McKenry, who had a fantastic first have in 2012 will back up Martin, who will get the majority of time behind the plate. Many fans wanted McKenry to be the Pirates' starting catcher for 2013 because of his offense in the first half of the season, but his final batting line was .233/.320/.442 with a .762 OPS and 12 home runs in 240 at bats. That is above average for a catcher, but was also very inflated from his first half numbers, where he
had a line of .252/.328/.524, with seven homers and an OPS of .852 in 103 at bats. But, in the second half, where McKenry got the majority of his at bats, he had a line of .219/.314/.380, with five homers and an OPS of .694 in 137 at bats. McKenry did have a good year offensively, but because of his first half numbers, many fans think he performed better than he did in reality.
Now onto Russell Martin. Martin was a promising young catcher for the Dodgers in 2007 when he put up a great offensive year as a 24 year-old, posting an .843 OPS. But after another solid offensive year in 2008, Martin has not put up an OPS of over .732 in the past four years. He was signed by the Yankees for 2011 and 2012, where he played stellar defense and hit for power, but also hit for averages of .237 and .211, the worst numbers of his career. Something that the Pirates should be concerned about is Martin's power output coming into PNC Park. With the relatively deep left field at PNC Park, some right handed hitters will see a drop-off in their power numbers, especially in Martin's case where he is coming from hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium. But, even with lessened power numbers by Martin, we can expect to see his average rise from his .211 mark in 2012, and his offensive production should say about the same as it has been in recent years.
Russell Martin is a great defensive catcher, and can handle a pitching staff very well. But, similar things were said about Rod Barajas last year, and we all know how that turned out. The Pirates have not been lucky with their free agent signings, with many of them taking a turn for the worst in their careers once they come to the Pirates (Barmes, Barajas, Overbay, etc..). Martin is more productive and more durable than Barajas was, so it is doubtful that the Pirates face another Barajas situation with Martin. The Pirates could also be hopeful that Martin has a similar turnaround that A.J. Burnett experience last year after coming over to the Pirates after a few years with the Yankees in the AL East. Martin will face worse pitching in the NL Central, and also has good career numbers against NL Central teams, so this turnaround is not out of the question, but is still unlikely.
The wildcard at the catching position for the next couple years is 2009 first round pick Tony Sanchez. After a very disappointing 2011 campaign where he entered the season as Baseball America's number 46 prospect and ended as a possible "draft bust", Sanchez put up decent offensive numbers in 2012 between AA and AAA, with a combined .739 OPS. Sanchez's calling card is his defense and ability to call a game, so his offensive output will ultimately decide where his career takes him. With the two year deal that Russell Martin received, Sanchez's opportunities will be limited at the major league level unless a move is made. But, don't be surprised if Sanchez emerges as a candidate to take over the everyday catching job if Russell Martin struggles. Sanchez is going to work very hard to prove himself over this offseason and the regular season, and could regain the offensive ability that he showed in his first two seasons with the Pirates.
The signing of Russell Martin put into place the Pirates' catching duo for the next couple of seasons. Expect Martin to put up an OPS somewhere between .720 and .740, with McKenry putting up similar numbers off of the bench. Both should also handle the pitching staff very well and provide solid defense behind the plate. But, don't count out prospect Tony Sanchez over the next two years, as he has the chance to surprise some people.
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