Boston’s Victor Martinez will be a Free Agent this Winter, should the O’s have interest?
Martinez – who turns 32 in December – has a .838 OPS for his career, including .852 in 2010.
Historically the switch-hitter has hit equally well against both RHP (.835 OPS) & LHP (.845 OPS).
He has always been viewed as more of a bat, than any type of defensive presence. In a Baltimore uniform with Wieters as his teammate, he would not have to worry about catching on a regular basis.
I like the idea of signing him as the regular DH, with starts also at Catcher, and 1st.
First, you would be signing a quality bat away from a division-foe. (Though, I guess you could make the argument that Boston would prefer any compensatory pick they would receive in return anyway.)
Second, even though Weiters has yet to hit as expected, he is going to remain an important fixture in the O’s lineup for years. As Wieters’ production improves, it will become increasing noticeable when his bat is out of the lineup and replaced with a bat like Tatum.
With Martinez as the everyday DH, you would still carry a backup catcher, but that backup would essentially become emergency use only.
You could easily limit Wieters to 110-120 games behind the plate, with Martinez getting the large-bulk of the remaining 40 to 50 games.
Third, with Martinez available to catch, and the backup catcher on the roster – you could DH Wieters in 25 to 30 games. That really is not a current available option to the O’s, as the Orioles would not have Tatum behind the dish, with Wieters in the lineup as the DH. They would not want to risk losing Tatum to injury, and being forced to lose their DH.
This solves that problem. You get the best of both worlds in that you would have a very rested Wieters, and the potential for Martinez to hit even better not having to Catch everyday.
Lastly, Martinez appears to be the type of FA that would be realistically obtainable for the O’s in their current-state.
With Martinez signed as the everyday DH, and Tejada brought-back to man SS for a year – I envision the 2011 lineup as:
Roberts 2nd (Yes, I realize we can discuss this further)
Pie LF
Markakis RF
Martinez DH
Wieters C
Jones CF
Reimold 1st
Tejada SS
Bell 3rd
Obviously a number of moving parts there, but the basics would be committing to the conversion of Reimold to 1st, and trading Scott. You would also have the option of moving Snyder in a larger package, or having him repeat at Norfolk.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.