Russell Martin reportedly has received four offers

Russell Martin is getting a lot of love from the American League.

There are reports he has received offers from four teams. ESPN/Boston.com’s Gordon Edes reported three of the teams are the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays.

Marc Craig of the Newark Star Ledger tweeted a fourth team -- the proverbial mystery team -- has offered a multi-year deal.

Guess a lot of people are convinced Martin won’t struggle to come back from that labral tear and fractured hip.

The Dodgers offered Martin $4.2 million to return to Los Angeles next year, but the catcher refused to sign for less than the $5.025 million he earned last season.

When the two sides could not come to an agreement, the Dodgers non-tendered Martin and he became a free agent.

The Dodgers then quickly signed catcher Rod Barajas, and are expected to announce the signing of catcher Dioner Navarro after he passes his physical.

Martin’s production had been in a downward spiral prior to his injury, but his agent -- Matt Colleran -- told Edes he was in "serious" discussions with the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays, and expected to continue those conversations Friday.

Even after non-tendering Martin, Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said he was still interested in re-signing him as a utility player, although that was expected to be at a lower rate.

The surge of interest in Martin, plus the signing of Navarro, however, all but assures the two-time All-Star will not return to the Dodgers next season.

Martin hit .248 last season, with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 331 at-bats.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Russell Martin hits a two-run double against the Angels in the fifth inning of an interleague game last season at Dodger Stadium. Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[gene]

If this is true, that's four more offers than any of the guys the Dodgers signed and gave raises to. Ned Colletti has spent all the goodwill and credibility capital he ever had, and it's pretty clear that the ONLY goal of the offseason is to get a mediocre team at a payroll which will permit McCourt to claim is really big! Donald Sterling must look at this management and thank God he's no longer the worst owner in the history of Los Angeles sports.

[Dallas]

Why would the likes of the Sox & Crankees want Martin - they are winners, he is not!

[OldBrooklynFan]

I guess it's time to get ready to say good bye to Russell Martin. His poor production in the past few years has made it much easier to see him go.

[Zen]

I left the Martin train at the YOGA stop.

[brooklyn vinnie]

When I first seen Martin I thought we had another Campy But I sure called that wrong.

[LosDodgers]

Martin fooled us Dodger fans in his few yrs with the club... he had a productive rookie yr, 10 hr, 60 rbi, .280 avg, then breaks out in soph campaign with 19hr, 87 rbi, .293 avg, it was unbelievable to have a smooth catching, slugging diamond in the rough, then he showed us who WE knew he WAS... An overrated canadian, who plays hard, but presses in Pressure situations to no avail?? Those first two seasons gave us the false impression we had found the next M. Piazza... He IS who WE thought he WAS!!

[MELISSA]

WHAT IS WRONG WITH NED COLLITTI? RUSSELL MARTIN IS THE DODGER CATCHER.... GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS HE DESERVES IT !!! HE GIVES HIS ALL....YOU ARE MAKING A BIG MISTAKE BY NOT SIGNNG ALLSTAR MARTIN!!!!!

[Stan]

Oh, how I feel for Mario Mendoza. He was born a little too early. The Mendoza Line (max. .200 BA) has been around for awhile. He would be dragging in some nice bucks if he was playing today. This can be witnessed by the $10mil to be paid to Carlos Pena for batting a buck ninety eight in 2010. With Martin closing down on the line and probably making $5mil in 2011, you can understand why I feel for Mendoza.

[California Sun]

I have to agree with the Dodgers on this call. Martin has had two bad seasons in a row.

[Dodgerfan]

What would Steve Garvey do? Ummm.

[bigbobblev6]

Look for Martin to sign with the Red Sox, where he'll drink the same punch as Big Papi and Beltre and magically regain his power.

[Jim McVeigh]

You have to understand the way ned,frank and jamie think. They have signed a catcher, another catcher and a left fielder along with the wonderful t.gwynn jr. for almost what Russell Martin would have received in arbitration. With that kind of savings, frank can put in another swimming pool. A word of warning to the remaining Dodgers, DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT GO ON THE DL or YOU WILL JOIN MARTIN IN THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF franklessness. I am 73 and have been a Dodger fan since the days of Dixie Walker and my first Dodger game in 1946 and this is the worst team that they, along with frank being the worst owner, have ever had. There is plenty to build on but you have to build with concrete not legos(sic)......

[N.P.Krohn]

All of his once promising skills eroded to the point of being negligible the last couple of years. Even with a good recovery the hip is going to take away alot of his running game and his ability to get out of the crouch when throwing out runners. Still like him and his attitude just doesn't help the Dodgers. Hope he signs with the Jays. They have a great young catcher he could backup/mentor and with Bautista still not signed he could get plenty of AB's to show he still has pop in the bat. Plus Canadian baseball fans are great and deserve to have a few of there own playing under their flag. And Mr. McVeigh; 86',89',90',04',06',09'. All much worse than this team. The late 60's were pretty mediocre too.

[Dan]

The McCheaps are smart. No matter what kind of crap the Dodgers put on the field, 3 million brainless Dodger fans will still support and attend games at the stadium next year. Here's to another 20 years without a World Series appearance...

[C-Note]

HR RBI AVG OBP SLG 2B SB
2006- 1st half of 2008 39 197 .289 .370 .450 75 41
2nd half of 2008-2010 15 103 .251 .346 .331 40 25

Numbers don't lie and this breakdown makes Russell Martin seem like two different players. Russell Martin- post the 2008 All Star Game- was a hitter who could no longer drive the ball, let alone hit homeruns. His running game, which was also part of his repertoire earlier, was only shown occassionally after the second half of 2008.

As much as a lot of us liked Russ, the choice was clear as to what had to be done.

We can also all speculate as to the reason why his productivity tailed off so much...

[Jonathan S.]

Martin always had the ability to be a great player, but he needed to be kept on a leash. He was catching too many games for far too long in L.A., and his steadily declining performance was the result. If he can play a less taxing position his numbers are sure to rise, but it's gonna be hard for him to recover from the battering his body's taken thus far. Best wishes for Martin wherever he ends up, he will be missed in L.A.

[k]

Oh the irony: Russell Martin STOLE Dioner Navarro's job several years ago, and now Navarro is gonna get it back!

I'm personally not quite ready to say bye to Martin. He's only, what, 27 and could easily find himself again. But if he signs someplace else, he could also embarrass us. Sheesh...

[halfpast3]

Big fan of Martin but for him to expect 5 mil for what he's brought to the plate the last few years is a joke. He should have taken the pay cut...the performance has just not been there. At least I won't have to hear Vin say "grounder to short" as often.

[Bob Valenzuela]

WHAT A BUNCH OF SPORTS HYPOCRITES FANS LIVE IN THE L.A. AREA. NO WONDER THE L.A. RAMS LEFT TOWN AND NOW THEY WANT THE DODGERS TO LEAVE ALONG WITH RUSSELL MARTIN THE ALL STAR CATCHER FOR THE DODGERS. GIVE ME A BREAK, THEIR IS NO LOVE FOR SPORTS IN L.A. AND IT IS SUPPOSE TO BE A FIRST RATE CITY NO WAY CLOSE TO N.Y. OR BOSTON IN SIGNING PLAYERS.

[Hector]

Russell Martin is a joke. As soon as MLB cracks down on PEDs his numbers plummetted and he became suspiciously injuy prone. He went from being hungry to being big headed (shrunken brain and organs). He went from hardly partying to partying hard. Now his career is endangered and his social life is OVER. He's not allowed to go out with the boys anymore, thanks to his super-model girlfriend. If she hasn't quit him yet she probably will when he has to take a major pay-cut to stay in the league, as a back-up hoping to prove himself once again.

[gus]

The usual will happen like with all ex dodgers , leave team as below or avg. player, blow your stats up on your new team, become a well rounded player, and dodgers will re-sign you later on down the road so you can suck all over again! Only the smart ones don't come back.