Base-Stealers Might Run Victor Martinez Out Of Boston

BOSTON –– Victor Martinez’ struggles at throwing out opposing runners are the kind of embarrassing gaffes that are perfect fodder for radio shows and back-page headlines.

Yet they are also central when looking at how the Sox will build their team long-term — and in that regard, Martinez is backing the Sox into a corner, and may already have cost himself millions with his early-season difficulties.

In a sense, this entire year has been cast as an audition for Martinez, to determine whether he can be the permanent solution behind the plate. Martinez is in the final option year of the contract he signed with the Cleveland Indians, and is earning over $7.5 million this season.

The catcher has made known his desire to stay in a Red Sox uniform long term, and his agent, Alan Nero, strolled through this year’s winter meetings predicting that the club and the player would be in intense talks soon. But the Red Sox didn’t talk contract with Martinez this offseason, preferring instead to see how he fared as the full-time catcher.

So far, his campaign has gone rather poorly, culminating with the nine stolen bases he and Tim Wakefiel allowed Tuesday. Martinez has now given up 23 steals, more than any other catcher, by far. He’s caught only one runner this year, New York’s Robinson Cano. The pitchers are partially to blame, but Martinez bears the brunt of the responsibility.

If he keeps allowing this many stolen bases allowed, there’s no way the Sox can commit to him as the permanent answer behind the plate.

It’s safe to assume he won’t always be this bad, of course — Martinez has been, at least, average at stopping steals earlier in his career. In 2007, he threw out 32 percent of opposing base-stealers.

“I’ve done it before, so I know that it’s there. I know that I can do it,” Martinez said after Tuesday night’s debacle.

Martinez seems to be mired in a crisis of mechanics coupled with declining confidence. Perhaps even more troubling than his difficulties gunning down runners is the fact that he’s now even having trouble throwing the ball back to the mound — sending several routine throws over Wakefield’s head Tuesday night.

“It’s bothered me a lot. But one thing you’re going to see for sure, I’m not giving up. I mean, whatever got me here, it’s because I’ve been working a lot, my whole career. It’s going to get better, I promise, it’s going to get better. The only thing I can do right now is just come to the ballpark to play, and keep working every day,” Martinez said.

Even a return to mediocrity would be welcome right now, but that’s no sure thing. Before Wednesday’s game, manager Terry Francona, bullpen coach Gary Tuck, and general manager Theo Epstein huddled in Francona’s office, potentially to talk catching. Martinez got the day off, and seemed relaxed, hanging out in the clubhouse with his young son, also named Victor.

The hope is that a little time and a little rest can get Martinez back on track, Francona said.

“It was a difficult night and that would be the hope. That’s what we’re always trying to do, let him have a good work day where you don’t have the game hanging over your head. There’s always a lot of stuff that we do prior to the game — but the game is hanging over your head, this way you can work and kind of take a breath,” Francona said.

But if he doesn’t improve, the Sox might need to explore other options, none of which are appealing. If they move Martinez to DH, that takes away at-bats for Mike Lowell and David Ortiz, and forces Jason Varitek into the lineup full time. Varitek has shown in the last few years that he’s probably no longer fit to carry a full-time schedule, his offense would likely suffer badly. The Sox can’t afford to carry another dead spot in an already uncertain lineup.

Pursuing another catcher in trade, or promoting from the minors, is equally unappealing. While there are some catchers available who can hit a bit, none are half the hitter Martinez is — and the catchers in waiting in the minors wouldn’t be an instant fix either.

The effects of a Martinez switch wouldn’t end there. Removing Martinez as the full-time catcher also impacts any potential mid-season trades. If, as so many speculate, this team is planning a midseason push for Adrian Gonzalez or Miguel Cabrera, then that creates a logjam of too many good players at too few positions. To keep Martinez’ bat in the lineup, then someone among — Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre, and the new addition would have to lose time — to say nothing of Mike Lowell and David Ortiz.

No matter how this turns out, Martinez may have already cost himself millions in free agency this year. He was already an uncertain commodity as a full-time catcher at this point in his career. If teams now have to worry that a meltdown like this is always looming, then that affects the decisions they make in building the rest of their roster.

Unless Martinez turns his fortunes around quickly, the catcher has also done great damage to his chances of returning to Boston permanently.

No matter where he plays, Martinez remains an important bat in the Red Sox lineup because he is an excellent batter who can switch-hit, and he hits good pitching. Those qualities don’t disappear if he doesn’t catch full time, but they do diminish in importance.

Martinez’s bargaining position, and his chances of staying in Boston, decrease significantly if the Sox were to have to play him at first base or as the full-time DH. Martinez is a good enough hitter to stand out at catcher, but he’d be a relatively average-hitting first baseman.

Defensively, Martinez is a decent first baseman — not among the league’s elite, but certainly not bad. At the moment, his status as a catcher is the source of so much of his importance.

The Red Sox are a much better team if Martinez can figure out how to be a serviceable catcher — and his future will be far brighter, as well. He knows how important it is to get back on track, and that all eyes will be on him until he can figure it out.

“I’m the one who has to catch the ball and get it out there, and I’m not doing it right now,” Martinez said. “But like I say man, it’s a long season, and I’ve still got a lot of work to do… I’m never going to give up, going to keep working on it, and we’ll see what happens.”

Via Providence Journal