Martin Bolting to the Bucs

    Fox News has reported that former Yankees catcher Russell Martin is headed to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The details of his deal are unknown but Martin is reuniting with old Yankee teammate AJ Burnett. What does this means for the Yankees? A lot. This is not good news for the Yankees and their fan base. Martin was a tremendous defensive catcher for the Bombers. He worked very well with the pitching staff, ultimately leading the staff to becoming a top rotation. He was tough and gritty, the type of player Joe Girardi coveted. Martin’s offense is the complete opposite. He will not hit for average but does have some pop and gets on base with walks. He is also a very patient hitter, a guy who fit very nicely into the Yankees lineup.     

The Yankees can replace his offense but can the Yanks replace his defense and leadership? As of right now, Chris Stewart is the Yankees starting catcher with Francisco Cervelli the backup. They do have youngsters Austine Romine and Gary Sanchez but neither seems to be ready to take over full time. Soon to be 36-year-olds AJ Pierzynski and Mike Napoli are the only other two free agent catchers worth talking about. AJ is an average defender with a solid bat. His power would go great at Yankee Stadium and his personality would fit in New York. The only problem is, is that Pierzynski is most likely going to get a multi year deal and the Yankees do not seem keen on giving a 36-year-old a multi year deal because the Steinbrenner’s want to get the payroll under $189 million. Mike Napoli is not an everyday catcher and will not fit in with what Girardi wants. The Yankees do not even seem to be interested in him. So what can they do? Cashman always seems to surprise everyone and now he has to think of what to do to replace Martin. It will not be easy but what will be easy about this Yankees offseason? These Yankees will definitely have their work cut out for them because this offseason just got a little bit harder.  

On the other hand, good news came out of the Yanks camp today, they have announced that Andy Pettitte (1 year, $12 million) and Mariano Rivera (1 year, $10 million) will both be back with the team next season. 

Jays Making Moves

     With the Toronto Blue Jays set to acquire a plethora of talented players, the American League East just go a whole lot harder. Sources say that the Miami Marlins and Blue Jays are on the verge of agreeing on a blockbuster trade. The Marlins will send half their team to the Jays for some young guns relieving the Marlins of contracts that just have not worked out for them. The Blue Jays are set to acquire former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, former White Sox pitcher Mark Buerhle, catcher John Buck, injury prone ace Josh Johnson, and super sub Emilio Bonifacio. The Blue Jays are sending shortstop Yunel Escobar, right-hander Henderson Alvarez, catcher Jeff Mathis and prospects Jake Marisnick (OF), Adeiny Hechavarria (SS), Justin Nicolino (LHP) and Anthony DeSclafani (RHP). The Blue Jays did not have to sacrifice top prospects Kyle Drabeck and catcher Travis d’Arnaud.

     This is scary for the rest of this division as the Blue Jays, barring injuries, have leap frogged to the top of the division. The Blue Jays have fortified their rotation with Buerhle and Johnson combining with Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow to form one of the top rotations in the game. This can only happening if Romero gets back to his 2011 form when he was an all-star pitcher and only if Johnson can stay healthy which has been a problem for him in the past couple years.     

     With that said, a lineup that ranked in the top ten last year, just got better. Jose Reyes is not the player he was two years ago but everyone knows how talented he is and he can hit well over .300 every season. Bonifacio will join Reyes at the top of the order to go with Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie, and Colby Rasmus. This team will be very dangerous and they did not ruin their future either.

     The question becomes will the Blue Jays live up to high expectations? I still see them finishing fourth because they have so many injury prone players and guys who might not adjust well to the American League East (Josh Johnson). However, the Yankees, Orioles, and Rays all have tons of questions that need to be answered this offseason and I would not be surprised if the Blue Jays win the division next year. Everything must fall their way in order for them to do so but there is still a long offseason ahead with teams just beginning to make moves.

     This is a monster move for the Jays, as they will finally become relevant and dangerous again in now an even better AL East. With the Yankees, Rays, Orioles and Red Sox all expected to make a ton of moves, next season sure is shaping up to be something special.