Dunlap: Martin Moving On Was Inevitable
Russell Martin played his way out of Pittsburgh.
It really is that simple.
And while there has been plenty of angst, myriad hostility and a bunch of anger about front office doings of the Pittsburgh Pirates since, oh, about 1993 or so, none should exist here.
This was the right move for everyone.
On Monday afternoon, word began to trickle from multiple sources that Martin had --- pending a requisite physical examination --- accepted a five-year, $82-million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Know what I did? I first shrugged my shoulders and then thought it was right that the overriding sentiment should be to wish Martin well.
I'm not in the business of telling you what you should do, but I feel that's the responsible tack to take for Pirates fans.
This was bound to happen and it finally did for Martin, who will turn 32 early next year and spent the past two season reinvigorating the Pirates behind the plate as he hit .256 with a .401 slugging percentage but, more important was a stalwart defensively.
In the aftermath of a deal that the Pirates, simply, couldn't and shouldn't have matched, there are a few things that remain …
First, I still hold true and unswerving to the notion that the organization, somehow and some way --- perhaps through backchannels --- needs to get the word out (http://cbsloc.al/1xQd4sQ) as to what their offer to Martin was.
Will this change things as to where he will be playing next season? No.
Would this provide a competitive advantage? No.
Will this do anything whatsoever internally? Nope.
Such a disclosure --- again, even leaked through a media member --- will, in my estimation, serve to allow the fan base to decide if the offer to Martin was one that was an effort to stay in the Major League Baseball arms race or not. And, more to that point, these fans have paid it forward, as they set an attendance record last season and have rallied around these resurgent Pirates even as they continue to wait for that big-time free agent to be delivered to their door.
For a time now, it appeared as if Martin was leaving, but Pirates fans should be privy to the data so they can formulate an opinion as to if the club was serious about keeping him ---- especially after general manager Neal Huntington made the pronouncement the club would go, "way beyond our comfort level."
That's the money side, but what about the practical catching side?
With Martin heading North, there is no question the catching game might be headed South --- but for how long?
From this view, the Pirates will use a mishmash of newly acquired Francisco Cervelli, and returnees Chris Stewart and Tony Sanchez to patchwork through the 2015 season until it is time for Elias Diaz to be Major League ready --- most likely for the start of 2016. Diaz, who turns 24 today, is the catcher of the future for the Pirates until the next catcher of the future, Reese McGuire --- just 19 and the 2013 first-round pick --- is ready.
Is this all an ideal situation? Probably not.
But it is the reality Pirates fans are left with now that the reality has happened with Russell Martin cashing an enormous check the Pirates couldn't --- and shouldn't --- have ever contemplated paying him.
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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