MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates Smart To Give Qualifying Offers To Russell Martin, Francisco Liriano

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By @Tweets_ByJ

Francisco Liriano Russell Martin

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Monday was the final day before free agency opened across MLB, which means it was the last chance for teams to lock up their impending free agents, and the last time teams could extend qualifying offers to their free agents. The Pittsburgh Pirates made history by offering their first qualifying offers ever to Francisco Liriano and Russell Martin, and these were very smart decisions by management.

Extending one qualifying offer, let alone two, is a big deal for the Pirates because they are a small market team, and offering a player $15.3 million is like offering them one fifth of the team’s entire payroll. It’s hard to see that statistic and then say that offering any player that much money for one season is smart for the Pirates, but Liriano and Martin are special cases.

Liriano has been masterful for the Pirates in the last two seasons. He has an ERA that has floated around 3.30 for his entire Pirates career. He has also provided strong strikeout numbers and showed greater control than his previous few seasons. Most importantly, Liriano has been a great stop gap for the Pirates, constantly ending losing streaks and pitching in the most clutch situations. That is something that is hard to replace, especially with other holes in the Pirates’ starting rotation.

As for Martin, he has been one of the best catchers in all of baseball since joining the Pirates. He has provided the team with some of the best, if not the best, defense from the catcher position. He has also provided leadership on and off the field, instilling confidence in a young pitching staff and a young team overall. Adding to the need to extend an offer to Martin is the fact that there is no obvious replacement, internally or externally.

These decisions are also proven to be smart because of the possible future implications. Last season, players had trouble finding suitors when they were offered a qualifying offer, because that meant the team signing them would have to give up a draft pick as compensation. That resulted in some players not signing with a team until after the draft in the middle of the season. This could pressure Liriano and Martin to take their offers or sign with the Pirates. and even if they find a different suitor, the Pirates can still get a draft pick.

So, looking at all of the factors, it seems like a very good decision to offer both Liriano and Martin qualifying offers. It may be a risk to offer so much money to only two players as a small market team, but for the Pirates these players provide enough value to make offering Martin and Liriano a smart decision for the organization.

Justin Broyles is a Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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