Russell Martin

[yoshii8]

He was non-tendered by the Dodgers yesterday. I like Lucroy, but I think that Russell Martin would be a significant upgrade behing the plate, especially if he is healthy. He has a very good k/bb ratio and even w/ his drop in power still has a good OBP. He is also considered a pretty good defensive catcher.

 

What do others think of him? Considering his Canadian roots, I'm sure the Brewers will take a look at him.

[Gobias Industries]

That kind of surprises me, but then I went and looked at his stats and he has had 2 down years in a row now.

 

With his versatility though, he'd be a perfect signing. He could backup Casey or Gamel at third on days he isn't catching.

[RockCoCougars]

I'd have been all over this yesterday if Martin hit LH. I was kind of disappointed to see Varitek and Pierzynski reup yesterday.

[And That]

especially if he is healthy.

He's a catcher coming off a fractured hip. I don't think the Brewers are in a position to take this risk. Lucroy is fine. Martin could be an upgrade, or he could be unable to catch regularly again.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

He is not the same player he was a few years ago...I wouldn't touch him.

[kilgore37]

George Sherrill got cut too. He had a horrible year last year but the 3 years before that is was money as a setup guy

[JohnBriggs12]

especially if he is healthy.

He's a catcher coming off a fractured hip. I don't think the Brewers are in a position to take this risk. Lucroy is fine. Martin could be an upgrade, or he could be unable to catch regularly again.

While "fractured hip" sounds really bad, it's reportedly fully healed. If he weren't healthy would teams like the Yankees be interested?

 

His down years, still decent for a catcher, were attributed to "Jason Kendall like" workloads from 07 through 09. At 28, there's absolutely no reason he couldn't rebound to All Star level production.

 

Catcher is certainly one position that the Brewers could use better production. Hopefully Lucroy will continue to progress. If he does, they'll be all right. But if you could get a guy like Martin for a reasonable cost as a buy-low guy, why wouldn't you explore it? This isn't a 34 year old Damien Miller were talking about. Not only has Martin been a fine offensive catcher, he's also won a Gold Glove.