Russell Martin, Blue Jays seal $82M deal

Free agent catcher Russell Martin and the Toronto Blue Jays finalized a five-year, $82-million US contract on Tuesday. A team spokesman said the Blue Jays are planning to introduce Martin at a news conference Thursday..

A three-time All-Star, Martin hit .290 with 11 home runs and 67RBIslast season, while also helping the Pirates to a second straight playoff berth.

He gets $7 million next year, $15 million in 2016 and $20 million in each of the final three seasons. Toronto announced the deal a day after Martin took a physical.

Martin is a three-time all-star who has some pop at the plate to go with his top-flight defensive skills.

The new Toronto Blue Jays catcher is also known for his poise, game-calling ability and pitch framing skills attributes that don't show up in the boxscore but can still have a big impact.

"He's got a lot of emotion, a lot of passion and a lot of desire," said Baseball Canada coach and national teams director Greg Hamilton. "But he's just able to slow things down and play under control. That's the thing that I've always respected in Russ's game. He's able to slow the game down and really have control of the game, the pace of the game.

"You see some players that are always in a hurry. They're trying to catch up to the game and it's anything but with Russ. He is always very gathered, very controlled. It's a special player that can do that and he was able to do that from a young age."

Martin joined the Canadian junior team in 1999 and later played for the national senior team at the 2003 Olympic qualifier and the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

The 31-year-old Martin turned down a $15.3-million qualifying offer from the Pirates last Monday after completing a two-year, $17-milliondeal.

By signing Martin, Toronto forfeits its first-round pick (17th) in next June's draft. Pittsburgh will receive a compensatory pick between the first and second rounds.

Toronto will receive a compensatory pick if outfielder Melky Cabrera, who also turned down a qualifying offer, signs elsewhere.

Martin's contract is the biggest one handed out by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulossince taking over from J.P. Ricciardi in October 2009. It's the second-biggest contract ever for the Blue Jays, trailing only the seven-year, $126 million deal given to outfielder Vernon Wells following the 2006 season.

At the end of this season, Anthopoulos acknowledged that the Blue Jays have a club policy that limits free-agent contracts to a maximum of five years.

Jays have 3 catchers in mix

Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, Martin becomes the 21st Canadian player in Blue Jays history and the third on the active roster in addition to infielder Brett Lawrie and outfielder Dalton Pompey.

Catcher Dioner Navarro was Toronto's lone free-agent acquisition last off-season, signing a two-year, $8 million deal. Navarro is owed $5 million for 2015.

The Blue Jays also have Josh Thole, whose primary role is catching R.A. Dickey's knuckleball.

The deal is a vote of confidence in a player who only played 111 games last season and hasn't been an All-Star since 2011.

Martin's contract is similar to the one Brain McCann signed with the New York Yankees last off-season. But McCann was about two years younger when he agreed to a five-year, $85-milliondeal.

Martin reached the major leagues with the Dodgers in 2006 and spent five years with Los Angeles before signing with the New York Yankees in 2011.