Cormack on MLB: Worth a click, Nov. 28
November 28, 2012, 6:35 PM

With a number of teams in search of a starting catcher and few options available on the free agent market, Russell Martin can sit back and rub his hands together as the offers roll in.

And regardless of who he suits up with next season, Martin may have the Pittsburgh Pirates to thank for setting the bar on his new deal.

On Wednesday, Jon Heyman of CBSsports.com reported the Pirates are making a strong bid to lure Martin away from the New York Yankees, perhaps offering the 29-year-old East York, ON native a three-year deal close to $25 million.

The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners have also been linked to Martin this off-season.

That would be quite the reward for a player coming off a disappointing year in which he batted .211/.311/.403/.713, albeit with a career-high 21 home runs in 422 at-bats. It should also tell you all you need to know about the state of the catching market these days.

To put that into some Blue Jays perspective for you, 27-year-old J.P. Arencibia batted .233/.275/.435/.710 in 2012 with 18 home runs in 347 at-bats. He earned $489,600 last season and while he is eligible for salary arbitration this winter, he also remains under team control until 2017.

As for Martin, he has always been highly regarded for his play behind the plate, but at the start of the off-season, few predicted he would a receive an offer beyond two years.

Heyman added that Martin’s choice will likely come down to the Yankees or Pirates and Martin is likely to make a decision within the next several days and possibly before the Winter Meetings, which begin on Monday in Nashville.

Later this week, Martin is expected to be named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Rosters must be submitted by Dec. 3 and Martin is a virtual shoe-in to be added. What position he ends up playing however is another story.

Earlier this week, Martin raised some eyebrows by suggesting he would like to play shortstop for Team Canada.

The Canadian squad currently lacks a major-league shortstop, but it has two MLB-caliber catchers in Martin and George Kottaras of the Oakland A’s.

“If it’s something that would help the team, I am willing to do it,” Martin told the New York Time’s Davis Waldstein. “I told (National Teams director) Greg (Hamilton) I want to do it, and he said he’s open to it.”

MORE CAN-CON:

On Wednesday, Baseball Canada named its coaching staff for the 2013 WBC:

Ernie Whitt will once again manage the club while Larry Walker will serve as hitting and first base coach. The rest of the staff will include: Tim Leiper (third base coach), Denis Boucher (pitching coach), Paul Quantrill (bullpen/pitching coach), Stubby Clapp (coach) and Greg Hamilton (coach and director of national teams).

Meanwhile, Team Canada veteran Pete Orr has found employment for 2013:

Former Toronto Blue Jay and Canadian citizen Mark Teahen — who spent all of 2012 with the triple-A Syracuse Sky Chiefs in the Washington Nationals system — has signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks with an invitation to spring training.

For the past two years, Teahen and his wife Lauren have raised more than $225,000 for an anti-domestic violence charity. Scott Bordow explains why the issue is so important to Lauren.

GOSSIP, GOSSIP, GOSSIP…

Heyman writes the Boston Red Sox plan is starting to emerge, and it includes the pursuit of free agents Nick Swisher, Mike Napoli and Cody Ross.

Peter Gammons reports Boston also has a thing for Joe Mauer:

Tony Paul of the Detroit News says the Tigers need a closer, just not one as expensive as Rafael Soriano.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports the San Francisco Giants’ efforts to re-sign Marco Scutaro and Angel Pagan are stuck in neutral, adding Pagan is the more likely of the two to sign elsewhere.

The David Wright contract extension saga appears to be changing by the minute, and the latest — wait, let me double-check Twitter — is that the talks have hit a snag over deferred dollars, reports Mike Puma.

Carlos Ruiz got slapped with a 25-game suspension Tuesday after testing positive for an amphetamine, but Phillies GM Ruben Amaro tells the Philly Inquirer the penalty won’t impact future talks on a contract extension with the 33-year-old catcher.

Ruiz is believed to have used Adderall, a drug which David Leon Moore and Jim Corbett of USA TODAY report is now widely used in MLB and the NFL.

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star chats with new Boston Red Sox third base coach Brian Butterfield. Griffin feels managing the Blue Jays was Butterfield’s ‘dream job.’

CODY ROSS MIGHT WANT TO SIGN SOMEWHERE SOON:

The free agent outfielder has offered a public service announcement that might make those of you planning on getting an early jump on your Christmas shopping this year think twice:

AND FINALLY:

Friend of the web site Arden Zwelling (@ardenzwelling) of Sportsnet Magazine has tweeted out a sneak peak of this week’s issue:

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