The Joe Mauer Domino Effect by Jared Carrabis
The future of V-Mart and the catching position in Boston


Some call it the "Domino Effect;" I call it "Business 101."

It's hard to imagine the day when you seat yourself at Fenway Park or flip on NESN, and our captain Jason Varitek is nowhere to be seen. Essentially, that day for us may have already passed.

At the July 31 deadline of this past season, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein pulled the trigger on a deal that brought perennial All Star catcher Victor Martinez to Boston. From that day forward, Martinez was given the majority of innings and workload to handle behind the plate.

Although it was not officially announced that Varitek would be reduced to the backup catcher, it was blatantly obvious just by paying close attention to the lineup card night in and night out that his role would dwindle over time into what will more than likely be his final season here in Boston in 2010.

"Things fell that way kind of the last two months of the season anyway," said Varitek. "My role changed. There's different parts. I handled a lot early, played a lot and handled it in a full-time capacity. But I think that just seeing in a different role, how my body adapts to maybe the less pounding and the less physical grind, it might be a good time for me to transition. I'm preparing as I always do to be able to handle as much as I can. I'll prepare for a full-time role, even though it's dictated another way. And that way, if something happens, I'm ready to go."

In 99 games before joining the Red Sox, Martinez was hitting .284/.368/.464. After ditching the Tribe to put on the uniform of the team who eliminated Martinez's Cleveland Indians in V-Mart's lone postseason run in 2007, the switch-hitting catcher put on a hitting clinic in Boston. Martinez batted .336/.405/.507 in 56 games for the Sox down the stretch, while belting 8 HR and driving in 41 runs.

His 8 HR and 41 RBI brought his season totals to 23 HR and 108 RBI. Martinez also enjoyed Fenway's home-cooking as well, batting .303/.363/.446 at the Fens with 21 RBI in 27 games.

For the $5.7 million that it cost for his services in 2009 and for the $7 million that it cost to bring him back in 2010, it would be foolish not to file V-Mart under one of the biggest bargains in baseball. Right up there with the likes of, dare I say, Adrian Gonzalez.

Well, he won't be in that category for long, as without an extension, Martinez will hit the free agent market at the conclusion of the 2010 season. However, talks over in Minnesota indicate that a big-time extension is imminent for one of the best players in the game, the reigning AL MVP, catcher Joe Mauer.

Now, when I think of Mauer, the name that instantly comes to mind is Cal Ripken Jr. I know these two players play two entirely different positions, but from a background standpoint, they are exactly the same. They both grew up rooting for the team in which they played, and like Ripken, Mauer belongs on that same team until he can play no longer.

Mauer remaining with the Twins is great for the game of baseball. It sends a message to the kids who watch the game of baseball that money can't buy happiness. In the Yankees' case, it may buy championships, but it can't buy Joe Mauer. Like Ripken, Mauer will be remembered as one of the all-time greats who played their entire career for their hometown team.

With Mauer presumably off the potential free agent list following the finale of the 2010 season, that ultimately bumps Martinez right to the top of the list for potential free agent catchers. I had suggested that the Red Sox make a move to extend Martinez even before Mauer came off the market, for the simple reason that while Mauer may be the best catcher in the game, how much more of an impact on a team can he make than Martinez?

First of all, no knock on Mauer, but when you have someone like Martinez hitting .336 for you with 20+ HR and 100+ RBI, let's not get picky, ya know?

For the money that it would have cost the Red Sox to bring in a guy like Mauer, you can have Martinez for significantly less, while getting slightly less production that can be compensated elsewhere in the lineup, because you haven't tied yourself up financially by emptying the bank for Mauer.

There is no right or wrong here; this is all purely opinion and opinion alone. However, for the Red Sox's sake, Martinez is very versatile by having plenty of experience at first base, while hitting from both sides of the plate. Mauer, on the other hand, hits strictly from the left side.

Don't get me wrong, either. By no means am I trying to argue that Martinez is better than Mauer, because that would be ridiculous. However, the point that I am trying to make is that it's a "pick your poison" situation when dealing with these two catchers. Although Mauer is the better defender by a long shot, as Martinez only managed to throw out 9-out-of-65 basestealers (that's 14%), neither of the two are considered to be a "walk in the park" by opposing pitchers.

At 31-years-old, Martinez could see himself getting a four-year offer from the Red Sox for upwards of $50 million, which would pay Martinez $12.5 million annually if distributed evenly throughout the contract. However, it all depends on how the Red Sox view Martinez as a player further down the line. The Red Sox might only want two more full seasons of Martinez behind the plate until they're ready to ease Luis Exposito into the starting job, who at 23, hit .337 in 92 at bats for Double A Portland in 2009.

Moving Kevin Youkilis to third base in favor of Martinez at first base in the future seems logical, but then you take a peek at the 2011 potential free agent class for first basemen and you see names like Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and Gonzalez to name a few and you say, "not so fast!"

Granted, some of the names mentioned above will sign extensions or be traded elsewhere and be extended before they can reach free agency, but nevertheless, you don't want to be tied down by Martinez's contract if someone like Fielder, Gonzalez, Pujols or Howard hits the free agent market.

In the event that one of those superstar first basemen became available to the Red Sox, Martinez would still be young enough to remain behind the plate for the duration of his contract, even with the likes of Exposito in the Red Sox's system. Despite the promise he showed in '09, Exposito likely won't be major league-ready until 2011 at the earliest, and even then, he wouldn't be able to give you what V-Mart could give you at that stage of his career.

Further along in their development in the Red Sox's catching department is that of Mark Wagner. Wagner split his 2009 season right down the middle between Double A Portland and Triple A Pawtucket. With 153 at bats down in Portland and 154 in Pawtucket, Wagner hit .301 and .214 respectively. As you can see, the significant drop-off in production after his promotion indicates that he's not yet ready for "the Show," but don't be surprised if he's the first to get a call might something happens to either Varitek or Martinez.

In any case, a Martinez extension would help build the bridge to Exposito when he is ready to take over, assuming he is the "catcher of the future."

With the big picture in sight, the chances of the Red Sox and V-Mart hammering out an extension before the season begins doesn't seem likely. However, the interest is certainly there on both sides. Whether or not a deal gets done remains to be seen, as the question of if there is enough money to throw around at this point is certainly debatable. Keep in mind, the Red Sox also have high hopes of inking Josh Beckett to an extension before he can sniff the free agent market.

I may be getting ahead of myself here, but in the event that the Red Sox some how pull off a trade for Adrian Gonzalez at this year's trade deadline, and V-Mart is still without a new contract, sorry, bud, but you just dropped to second or third place on the Red Sox's priority list, depending on Beckett's contract situation at that point. Boston would certainly make it a priority to have Gonzalez under contract for the long-term if they were fortunate enough to send a king's ransom to San Diego in exchange for his services.

Again, that scenario is a big if, and the likelihood that Beckett and Martinez will both be extended by Boston seems more realistic at his point than Gonzalez being traded to the Red Sox at this coming July's trade deadline.

We all can still dream though, right?

As we've seen in the past, the Red Sox and Epstein don't like to negotiate during the season, but they certainly have made some exceptions. For example, Beckett's first extension with Boston was agreed upon mid-season, and it was recently leaked that Boston and Jason Bay had a deal in place around this past year's All Star break that was later axed due to health issues.

So, fear not, Red Sox Nation. If both Beckett and Martinez enter the 2010 season without an extension, it does not mean that they have purchased a one-way ticket to free agency, where every other team in the league can try to seduce them into their team's uniform. If the interest is mutual, as it appears to be for both parties, then trust in Theo to get the job done, as usual.

-Jared Carrabis

To order Jared's debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!

Jared also hosts the TruFan Red Sox Webcast live from Boston, MA every Tuesday and Thursday from 2-3pm EST on TruFan.com/Webcast





Published on February 01, 2010

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