On Friday afternoon, the Dodgers and the Blue Jays announced an agreement on a long talked-about trade that would send former Dodger, Russell Martin, back to SoCal and Chavez Ravine. In return, the Blue Jays would receive two prospects, of which one ranked in the top 30 in the Dodgers’ highly regarded farm system.
The official call of the trade entails the Dodgers sending minor league pitcher, Andrew Sopko, and minor league shortstop, Ronny Brito, to Toronto in return for veteran catcher, Russell Martin, and cash considerations. The move comes as the Dodgers look to bridge the gap between having a viable catching option in 2019, and having minor league gems like Will Smith and Keibert Ruiz on the helm of being major league ready.
Martin, 35 years old, spent his first five MLB seasons in a Dodgers uniform, and is due $20M in 2019. However, with the cash considerations included by the Blue Jays, the Dodgers are responsible for only $3.6M of Martin’s salary. The Dodgers’ competitive balance/luxury tax numbers will not see a single dollar of impact from Martin’s contract, as only the $16.4M paid for by the Blue Jays is eligible to be counted against the tax.
While Russell Martin’s .194 batting average in 2018 is certainly not pretty, looking past that is easy when taking other statistics into consideration. Martin recorded a 15.9% walk percentage last season; the highest of any season in his career. Martin is also a solid defensive catcher, ranking in the top half of the league in pitch framing a year ago.
This move certainly does not take the Dodgers out of the conversation of trading with the Marlins for star catcher, JT Realmuto, but instead puts the Dodgers in a more powerful position. The Dodgers are no longer in dire need of help at the catcher position, and therefore should not be as easily coaxed into dealing top level talent in a Realmuto trade.
Russell Martin brings leadership, experience, and an unmatched desire to win a World Series ring to the Dodgers’ roster, at a very reasonable price.
Welcome back, Russell!
Arrick Joel has covered the Dodgers since 2017, and for Dodgers-LowDown since 2018. Follow @ArrickJoel and @DodgersLowDown on Twitter for more.