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Dunlap: It's In The Effort, Not Result For Martin

With the Pirates and Russell Martin, it really might come down to the effort and not the result.

If the effort is made --- a fair and honest effort by the Pirates --- I don't think I can get mad at whatever the result ends up being.

If he walks, he walks. If he stays, he stays --- just as long as the effort is there.

In the midst of this phenomenal pennant chase, the now-playoff-bound Pirates have an issue that, even with all the positive swirling around the club, just won't go away: What is going to happen with catcher Russell Martin next season and beyond?

Martin, 31, is having one of the best seasons of his career at the plate (.294 avg., 11 HRs, 67 RBIs) and has been his usual stalwart self in his handling of the pitching staff.

All this, and it very easily could be stated that Martin would have been a viable MVP candidate had he not missed a month early in the season with injury.

When General Manager Neal Huntington joined the Cook & Poni Show on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday, invariably Martin's future was broached.

So what are the plans of this management team …?

"We're going to stretch. We're going to go way beyond our comfort level and hope it's enough," Huntington said. "If it's not [enough] we've got to work hard to get out and try to back fill as best as we can. We won't replace a Russ Martin but we can back fill. And, then, how do we spend the money elsewhere to make the club stronger to overcome the loss if need be? But we're going to go way beyond what some people anyway think we should go. We do recognize that this man and this player has been really good this year and projects to be pretty good going forward."

Here's how good, in my eyes: At least worth a three-year and $45 million contract moving forward.

If I'm a Pirates fan, and that's where the negotiations start, I'm happy.

If the Pirates don't offer that much right off the jump, if that isn't their initial proposal, there should be some outcry.

Look, it isn't my money, but I would go as high as about $50 million for three seasons --- but that's a definite end point.

There must be a finite end point, and that's where I would set mine.

Either way, it would represent a healthy raise from the contract that Martin signed in November of 2012, when he inked a two-year, $17 million deal that runs out when this miraculous season comes to a close.

Perhaps --- for Martin at least --- the length of the contract would be the sticking point much more than the annual sum he would be making. In short, he could be looking for a fourth year. And that's where things get tricky.

Should the Pirates --- if Martin demands it --- pay up for a fourth season for a guy playing a position where he regularly gets beat up and would need to play until he's 35 to see the end of said contract?

Again, that's tricky.

The positive is that Martin might be the most in-shape, 31-year-old catcher on the planet. The negative, however, is that his age and position --- no matter his conditioning --- inevitably will catch up to him someday.

For all of that, that's why it might be wise for the Pirates to back away if Martin insists on that fourth season.

This club can --- and should – go beyond a comfort level. It shouldn't, however, do anything approaching unwise.

A firm line must be drawn. For me it's three years and between $45-$50 million.

Take it or leave it.

That would be an honest effort from the Pirates.

Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weeknights from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.

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