2. Russell Martin is going to have a bigger impact than expected
The newest member of the Los Angeles Dodgers had to make the list as it was the biggest news in the MLB on Friday. The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired catcherRussell Martinfrom the Toronto Blue Jays for minor leaguersAndrew Sopkoand Ronny Britto. The Dodgers are paying Martin $3.6 million of his $20 million salary this season.
Martin is not the big splash that Dodger fans wanted but he is going to serve as a platoon option behind the dish alongsideAustin Barnes. His offensive numbers were not particularly great on the surface last season but he does still have the fifth-highest on-base percentage among catchers since 2016.
His value comes defensively as well as his veteran presence behind the plate will work nicely with the veterans and young arms on the staff and his pitch framing is as good asYasmani Grandal‘s.
The running joke with Martin is that the Dodgers are just bringing back old faces, as they did withMatt Kemp, hoping to get a similar kind of resurgence.
I don’t think the front office is expecting Martin to be an all-star in 2019 like Kemp was in 2018 but it is not crazy to think that he actually will have a big impact on this team.
Playing for a contending team definitely fuels players, especially when they are in a lineup that is stacked enough to keep the pressure solely off them. Martin won’t be an all-star but will give the Dodgers his best year since 2015.
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