The Minnesota Twins signed their catcher Joe Mauer to an eight-year, $184 million deal on March 21, leaving Martinez as the only premium backstop remaining on the projected 2010 free-agent market. If
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein doesn’t come to terms with Martinez and his agent Alan Nero soon, the 31-year-old is sure to be among the hottest players during the hot stove season.
Martinez hit .303 with a .861 OPS last year, and bashed 23 homers, the second-highest output of his career. After coming to Boston from the Cleveland Indians in a deadline trade for Justin Masterson and prospects, the switch-hitter improved his average to .336 and his OPS to .912. He also spent the summer developing a good rapport with the Red Sox pitching staff, earning the trust of veterans and youngsters alike. He even earned the all-important green light from Tim Wakefield, whose knuckleball has given numerous catchers fits.
"He did such a great job with me [last year], not ever catching a knuckleball and then catching me in my first start back after my injury," Wakefield told the Boston Herald. "He did a phenomenal job for me, and he’s picked up right where we left off. It’s nice to get some more innings under our belts together."
Martinez also made a seamless transition into the Red Sox clubhouse, and has been known throughout his career as an excellent teammate.
However, with the New York Yankees coming to town for Opening Night on Sunday, Martinez wants his focus to be entirely on baseball, leaving little time for Epstein and Nero to talk business.
"During the season, I really have enough to worry about, just playing the game," Martinez told the Herald. "I don’t want any distractions."
From the moment Josh Beckett's first pitch crosses the plate Sunday night, all bets on Martinez’s future will be off. The Red Sox will still be able to discuss a new contract with him during an exclusive negotiating window between the end of the season and the start of free agency, but questions linger about whether there will be mutual interest between the parties.
One possible stumbling block is Martinez’s ability to stay behind the plate into his mid- and late-30s. Many catchers experience a significant drop-off in their blocking and throwing skills as they age, because of the physical wear and tear of the position. Martinez nabbed just 13.8 percent of would-be base stealers last season, down more than 20 percent from his 2008 mark of 37.1 percent, and the lowest rate of his career.
If Martinez is able to maintain a .300 average and .850 OPS for several more seasons, then he’ll be considered a very productive player regardless of position. But his value will be severely diminished if he becomes a defensive liability as a catcher and is forced to move to first base, particularly because the Red Sox have Kevin Youkilis entrenched at that position and could resume their pursuit of the San Diego Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez. Moreover, two of Boston’s top prospects – Lars Anderson and Anthony Rizzo – also are first basemen, and Epstein could be reluctant to block them.
Conversely, from Martinez’s perspective, his next contract figures to be the only lucrative long-term deal of his career. Martinez will earn $7 million in 2010 after the Red Sox made the no-brainer decision to exercise his club option, but as a roughly 5.0 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) per year player, he has been vastly underpaid so far in his career. Hence, although money may not be the biggest issue for Martinez, he’s unlikely to grant the Red Sox a bargain – and he’d have to do just that if the front office believes he will not be a catcher down the road.
Regardless, Martinez has indicated that he harbors no ill will toward the Red Sox and simply wants to avoid distractions during the next six or seven months.
"I’m not really surprised or disappointed or anything," Martinez told the Herald. "I just have to make sure that I prepare myself to play in 162-plus games. If I do that, I know the rest is going to take care of itself."
And once the on-field business is taken care of, the Red Sox and Martinez should return to the negotiating table this fall.
