Toronto Blue Jays Signing Martin More Costly Than Salary

Toronto Blue Jays Signing Martin May Be More Costly Than Salary

I may be on an island when I say this and that’s okay, but I think the Toronto Blue Jays huge signing of Russell Martin is stupid. Yes, I’m pouring water on that fire.

There’s a caveat named Melky Cabrera, and the Jays, unquestionably, need him more. So if Toronto gets him, maybe this signing wouldn’t ruffle my feathers as much.

The only thing holding me back from falling off the deep-end is the idea that Alex Anthopoulos isn’t done – which is likely – meaning that this is just the start of the Jays’ moves this offseason. (I concede that this thought may ultimately be a reprieve…)

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The main area of my disapproval for signing Martin is because of the need. The Jays don’t need a bleeping catcher!!

We have Dioner Navarro, a very serviceable catcher who may have been the Jays best clutch hitter last year. He hit .274 last season with 12 homers and 69 RBIs in 139 games.

The guy has been an All-Star! He’s only 30 and he’s already under contract through 2015 at a reasonable $4 million per season. (These numbers according to baseball-reference.com.)

And the biggest thing may be how he galvanized the pitching staff and made them better. (Admittedly Martin is a fantastic fielder and helps pitchers out a lot… but Navarro has existing camaraderie).

Sep 15, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro (30) walks off the field after the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore Orioles defeated Toronto Blue Jays 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

So the Jays now have Martin plus Navarro, and let’s not forget about Josh Thole, who still catches R.A. Dickey. So, three catchers!! A surplus is a great thing… when the commodity is needed. As baseball knows, there’s only one ball… just as there’s only one player at a position, especially catcher. Redundancy… sigh.

What do the Jays need? How about EVERYTHING ELSE!? I exaggerate, but there are many needs. MELKY CABRERA! Gosh, who knows where last season would have went if not for the Jays’ MVP?

Re-signing him is top priority. Priority ONE! Now the Jays have thrown $82 million dollars away on what?! A guy who’s marginally better than the one we have under contract.

Oh, he’s Canadian? That is great and I’m a patriotic guy actually, but I don’t put patriotism over food (a need for humanity… which is kinda on par for a need for a great-hitting left fielder for a baseball team. A stretch of a metaphor ? My apologies).

How about some bullpen help? They struggled last year like the CFL in the United States! I know we have some decent pitchers, but we also let a few go – Casey Janssen, Brandon Morrow, and Dustin McGowan had their options declined.

And no one should think that Aaron Sanchez is staying in the bullpen. Maybe the acquisition for Roy Halladay, named Kyle Drabek, can step up. Someone’s gotta… or maybe the acquisition for Adam Lind, Marco Estrada can suffice?

Aug 5, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (13) hits a single during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Or there’s always the second- or third-baseman debate. Brett Lawrie can only play one position at a time, and to be honest, he has shown an inability to do either consistently, playing just 86 games on average in his four years of MLB service.

Last year’s 70 games may be bad luck, but here’s hoping Lawrie can play everyday at either one of these positions. Maicer Izturis is the other candidate for one of these positions and he’s gotta stay healthy too.

The kid the Jays landed in return for Anthony Gose, Devon Travis, is promising, but who knows how far away he is? He is young at 23, but he’s just a AA player now. (Not to mention his size, but that’s another conversation altogether.)

The Jays absolutely broke the bank for Martin, casually overpaying like they couldn’t have gotten a better deal. Even Sportsnet analysts Shi Davidi and Gregg Zaun said, separately, that they felt like Martin would be a free agent for a while and may not sign until the season is close (perhaps implying that when a team finds out they have a big need at catcher, Martin would get scooped). The market was reportedly not major, and yet the Jays broke the bank.

PRIORITIES, PEOPLE! That’s the reason why I’m not happy with the Martin signing. If we had Melky on board already, I’d still be appalled at the “straight-cash homie” (as said by Randy Moss) shown by the Jays, but I wouldn’t be worried. I don’t like that they filled a luxury before a major need.

Aug 23, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays player Melky Cabrera (53) hits an RBI double in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

There’s gotta be more up the sleeve of Anthopolouos. The deal for Martin, who seems to be a winner wherever he plays, may turn out to be a good one. But if it’s at the sacrifice of Cabrera, I don’t think it will be and I fear it may scream out BUST.

Paul Beeston said there is some money still there, so the argument that A.A. isn’t done appears to be pretty good. However, the holes of the Blue Jays are greater than pretty good…

But we must wait for the equation to be complete.

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