Possibilities For A First Base Upgrade

Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Victor Martinez

A possible free agent target that could be pursued as an upgrade is Tigers first baseman Victor Martinez. In addition to his years with Detroit, V-Mart has also been with Cleveland and Boston during his career. He is coming off perhaps his best season after hitting .335 with a career high 32 home runs and 103 RBI.

There are definitely advantages to pursuing Martinez this offseason. He is a very good hitter, having hit over .300 in eight of his 12 years in the big leagues. Martinez also has postseason experience, having appeared with Cleveland in 2007, Boston in 2009 and the Tigers in 2011, 2013 and 2014. He can also get a few games at catcher if absolutely necessary.

Now for some reasons why the Yankees might not pull the trigger on acquiring Martinez. As with the previous three candidates, V-Mart is into his decline phase. When 2015 starts, he’s going to be 36 years old. Martinez used to catch, so his knees are an issue, and he did miss all of 2012 after knee surgery. He is also reportedly looking for a four year contract, which might be longer than New York wants to give a 36 year old former catcher.