Yankees to sign Russell Nathan Coltrane Jeanson Martin

[love_that_reefer]

Buster Olney of ESPN.com suspects that the Yankees will soon announce an agreement with free agent catcher Russell Martin.
Martin also drew heavy interest from the Red Sox and Blue Jays, but the Yanks may be ready to outbid their competitors yet again. Martin batted just .248/.347/.332 in 2010 for the Dodgers and also played poorly in 2009. But he's just two years removed from an All-Star nod and many of his recent struggles can be related to a hip injury that is now believed to be healed.

I think this is a good move only because it doesn't allow the Red Sox to sign him. So far this offseason, the Red Sox have made the Yankees their ***** by having a far superior winter. This is a small victory for the Yankees and gives the Yankees a guy who can catch and play a little third. It obviously fills a need so if the Yankees do sign him, Martin is healthy and the money is right, I think this will be a decent pickup

[Kingdom]

"Heavy interest." Aka desperate teams.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

This is a terrible move! Now Montero gets to wallow an extra year in AAA instead of coming up at the perfect timed opportunity. And who cares if the Red Sox signs him? He's not that good. This is awful and I hate Cashman for having the "the Red Sox signed 2 big names so we now have so sign somebody, anybody with a name no matter what position" mentality.

The trickle down effect is now Montero gets discouraged because he's still blocked at the Majors, and instead of getting a year of MLB experience under his belt for when Posada finally calls it quits and we need him full-time, he'll be totally MLB inexperienced for when he gets the call.

Overall awful job by Cashman. I hope this turns out to be false. The Red Sox can have him. I certainly don't want him

[Bizkit]

This is a terrible move! Now Montero gets to wallow an extra year in AAA instead of coming up at the perfect timed opportunity. And who cares if the Red Sox signs him? He's not that good. This is awful and I hate Cashman for having the "the Red Sox signed 2 big names so we now have so sign somebody, anybody with a name no matter what position" mentality.

The trickle down effect is now Montero gets discouraged because he's still blocked at the Majors, and instead of getting a year of MLB experience under his belt for when Posada finally calls it quits and we need him full-time, he'll be totally MLB inexperienced for when he gets the call.

Overall awful job by Cashman. I hope this turns out to be false. The Red Sox can have him. I certainly don't want him

I don't think this hurts the promotion of Jesus Montero. I think it's to help Montero learn how to catch, and throw people out consistently, and that is what Russell Martin is fantastic at. Plus keep in mind, there isn't a catcher on Boston's team that can throw anyone out.

Think of it like this. Yankees down 3-2 against the Red Sox, Brett Gardner steals 2nd base. Would you rather the Red Sox have someone useless like Salty, or Varitek throwing to 2nd, or Russell Martin.

After what Boston has done this offseason, hurting their defense this way could be a must.

[Kingdom]

The way they're going, they'll sign something better than Martin.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

Yeah, like Cliff.......oh wait

[love_that_reefer]

I don't think this hurts the promotion of Jesus Montero.

Yeah I have to agree with this. If Montero is ready, nothing is going to stand in his way, much like Molina and Posey last year.

[love_that_reefer]

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that a physical exam with the Yankees revealed that Russell Martin needs knee surgery.
The good news is that the procedure is considered relatively minor -- they wouldn't have went ahead with the signing if it was deemed serious -- and he is expected to be ready for spring training. Still, this is troubling for someone who is coming off a fractured hip and two mediocre seasons at the plate.

It just keeps getting better