Is Fernando Martinez Worth a Waiver Claim?
Fernando Martinez‘s time as a New York Met might be coming to an end. To make room for Ronny Cedeno and Scott Hairston on its 40-man roster, the Mets placed Martinez on waivers. While it seems that Martinez has been around forever, the former top prospect is only 23 — which means he could be an intriguing option for some other team.
It might sound weird to say this about a guy this young, but Martinez’s time is running out. Injuries have been the main culprit behind his decline, but Martinez hasn’t been particularly impressive when he’s healthy. As his .265/.326/.465 AAA slash line demonstrates, Martinez hasn’t hit for average or displayed enough on-base skills over the past three seasons.
Martinez has always struggled with his walk rate, but his strikeout rate is now equally poor. Any player who strikes out 24% of the time in AAA — as Martinez did last season — is going to struggle to hit for average at the major-league level. Unfortunately, Martinez isn’t the type of hitter who can make up for a low average by posting strong walk totals or hitting for power.
These problems wouldn’t be as much of a concern if Martinez were still viewed as a center fielder. Due to his recent injuries, though, Martinez’s speed and range have diminished too much to handle the position. The Mets have realized this, using Martinez primarily as a corner outfielder during the past three seasons. Even if Martinez could handle center adequately, playing him there could make him more of an injury risk than slotting him in a corner. Martinez’s bat isn’t strong enough to profile at a corner outfield slot, though.
What we have here is a classic case of injuries playing havoc on a player’s development. Martinez was supposed to hit for average and develop power as he got older, but he hasn’t stayed healthy during his career. Martinez’s career high in plate appearances during one season is just 400 — and that was way back in 2008. Martinez has lost so much developmental time due to injuries that it’s unclear whether he’ll ever develop those traits. That uncertainty was fine back in 2008 — when Martinez was just 19 — but it’s a problem when four years have passed and those questions still remain.
Due to his former prospect status — and his age — it’s highly likely that a team will claim Martinez. For the price of a waiver claim, it’s tough to argue with the move. At the same time, it’s tough to really expect anything of value from Martinez next season. He hasn’t been particularly impressive when he has played, and he hasn’t been healthy enough to improve his play. He’s a low-risk buy, but it’s really tough to argue that Martinez is capable of providing a high reward anymore. It’s always possible that Martinez is just a late-bloomer — which is why a team would take a shot on him — but age and performance are no longer on his side.
The Mets could have packaged this guy for Haren, CC, or a few solid years of Manny. What a freakin bust.
Thanks again Omar.
If a team takes him, he’d need to be on the 25-man. And if he still has development to do, it’s always hard to do that (or even to judge his progress) if he’s sitting on the bench.
Do any teams have a spot open for a left-handed platoon, but the roster flexibility to dump him if he struggles?
false. this is not a rule 5 situation.
I wasn’t implying that it was. As far as I can tell, he used up his options in 2009/2010/2011.
If he does indeed have an option remaining, there’d be no reason for a team with roster space to grab him and stick him in AAA.
I think the point is that any team that doesn’t put him on their 25 man to start the season will have to again expose him to waivers since he is out of options.
I thought I read that he has an option remaining.
Whether he does or not, he can be signed to a minor league deal.
I think I was wrong. He does have an option remaining (in 2009, he was optioned less than 20 days). That changes the equation considerably, because (besides roster space), there’s little harm in taking a flier on him and keeping him in AAA to see what he’s got left.
But, Spike, a minor league contract isn’t part of this conversation. He’s either going to be claimed by another team (which means he’ll be on their 40 man), or he’ll clear waivers and still be controlled by the Mets (no longer on the 40 man).
if he goes unclaimed, can’t he elect to be a FA?
and if FM’s option year remaining does carry over if he gets claimed, why doesn’t Herrera also have an option yr. I don’t see where Herrera’s option yrs have been used up either.
And a related question: I thought that a player has the ability to be declared a FA if he has 6 yrs of minor league service time. FM has that. Does the 1 option yr left trump that and mean that the Mets have the right to send him to Buffalo?
You’re confused about a bunch of different rules.
A guy who passes through waivers unclaimed can only elect free agency if a) he has been outrighted previously, or b) he has three years of MLB service time. F-Mart has neither. Herrera could elect free agency because he was outrighted before (6/20/2011).
And a guy can become a minor league free agent if he isn’t on the 40-man and has 6+ years of minor league service time. Neither F-Mart nor Herrara have 6 years of minor league service time, and both were on the 40-man roster. Note that time in the majors doesn’t count towards minor league service time, and vice versa. They may have debuted 6 years ago, but both have spent time in the majors, thus precluding them from having 6 full years of minor league service.
And, yes, option years are preserved if a guy is traded or claimed off waivers. But Herrera used his options in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Herrera first got added to the roster a year before Martinez did.
Thnx Yirm. There are still a few fuzzy spots but I can deal.
Last thing I saw being debated… correct me if I’m wrong, but the Mets cannot trade FMart now or unless he goes unclaimed and they can then outright him to Buffalo. If a team claims him then he’s gone, correct.
Short answer to the worthiness of a waiver claim on FMart: No
Long answer to the worthiness of a waiver claim on FMart: Nope
He still has an option left so he can be put on 40 man, but not MLB roster.
My bet is on the Pirates.
I hope not, but only because prospect Starling Marte and also Gorkys Hernandez will both be vying for MLB playing time, and I’d much rather prioritize their development.
nothing says he’d be contending for an ML job and there’s no harm holding him at AAA if all it costs is a 40-man spot. i’d be satisfied if we just exchanged him for our POS rule 5 pick.
package him with Elijah Dukes and Conor Jackson and you have the 2014 Pirates starting OF.
I’m going to guess it doesn’t happen. He’s at a point where he’s going to need a full year in AAA healthy to regain an comfort at the plate/in the field. so, no chance of a one year impact, slight chance of a rebound, high chance of absolutely squat? Obviously he has to be optioned to triple a, but then he’s a 40 man constraint for year or more. Good teams don’t need him, bad teams (like the mets) have too much mediocrity on the 40 man. We’ll see.
Kansas City, are you listening? Take a look GMDM
In addition to the injury problems, the Mets really mishandled this guy, as they have done with many prospects. He should not have been called to the majors at age 20 in ’09. It’s quite possible he could still turn it around in an organization which knows what it’s doing.
It’s possible, but the Mets have a tendency of ruining perfectly good prospects forever. Escobar, Milledge, now F-Mart…
I don’t know how they managed to not fuck up Wright and Reyes.
You say that as though every other team’s prospects all pan out. F-Mart probably shouldn’t have been called up in 2009, but a lot of teams call top prospects up for short MLB stints. I don’t think there was anything wrong with how they handled Milledge other than the fact that he turned out to be just not that good. If anything’s to blame for the Mets’ bad crop of prospects over the last 6-7 years, it’s Omar’s poor drafting.
yeah, he should never have been called up. he was rushed just like all of our other prospects… hopefully Sandy changes all that…
And an organization that doesn’t have the constant health issues of the Mets. I’d take a flier on him just to see if my doctors could get his knees healthier than the Mets doctors. They can’t be any worse, and if he does start to get healthy again, you may have found a cheap reward.
So the doctors for other organizations can cure arthritis?
Soon you can add Flores, Mejia, Havens and Familia to that list, too. All of them got rushed through the system, all of them are not developing how they should have.
Familia was 21 last year and he spent most of the year in AA.
Havens was 24 last year and he hasn’t played above AA.
How did they get rushed through the system?
Havens has been hampered by injuries nearly every season. Saying that a prospect isn’t developing “how they should have” is a tough argument to make. Some prospects just don’t develop. When you follow a team and its prospects closely, some fans just put too much expectations on a given guy.
You can’t help but feel for this kid. He signed as a 16-year old with a ton of promise. No one could have predicted he’d develop arthritis in his knee in his 20′s. And that’s the big question mark about him. No one is questioning the bat but his injury history isn’t due to being unlucky or too aggressive. He has arthritis, something we associate with the elderly, not the young and athletic.
And a 23 year old with severely arthritic knees does not inspire much optimism for future health.
The world needs ditch diggers too. As someone who say him play in ten major league games personally, he’s just not that good. Quad-A (possibly)
10 games? Are you serious?
i live in queens
KC, Pittsburg, and Houston should probably take a look (depending on if they have a free 40 man roster spot).
As an Astros’ fan, I think Fernando Martinez is worth a waiver claim. The 40 man roster is full, but I don’t have that much concern about removing a fringe player from the 40 man roster. He is a high risk/reward type acquisition. High chance of becoming a bust, but a chance that he is able to resurrect his career with a change of scenery. The Astros’ outfield depth isn’t exactly overwhelming. Let him compete in spring training for a ML slot. If he starts the year in Oklahoma City, perhaps the hitting environment in the PCL improves his confidence.
Missed out on an opportunity to have the headline: “Attention F-Mart Shoppers…”
He’s still young, the article makes him sound like he’s 30+. He’s got plenty of time to improve and is well worth whatever the waiver price is, to say the least.
Heck, some team might claim him and try to slip him through waivers later.
This article also mentions he’s only 23 in the first paragraph.
The NY papers are the real losers here. The nickname “Fartinez” would have had limitless potential. For that reason alone some team should take a flyer on him.
I would be shocked if a team doesnt take a flier on him. 23yo, former top prospect,…
Astros have claimed F-Mart off waivers.