WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2006
A-:  321/363/396, 159 AB, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 BB, 28 K, 6-14 SB
A:  172/234/172, 87 AB, 7 BB, 10 K, 4-7 SB
A+:  217/280/304, 23 AB, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1-1 SB

Martinez split his debut season mainly between short season ball and low A.  In the field, he split his time between short and second.

2007
A:  250/301/327, 404 AB, 21 2B, 5 3B, 27 BB, 68 K, 13-16 SB

The Nationals kept Martinez all year in low A, where he was the regular shortstop.  He hit very little.

2008
AAA:  266/320/376, 417 AB, 25 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 27 BB, 49 K, 25-32 SB

In high A, Martinez split his time between short and second.  His hitting improved a little, mainly in the form of increased power.

2009
A+:  293/347/475, 198 AB, 14 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 16 BB, 31 K, 10-16 SB
AA:  223/313/298, 188 AB, 7 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 20 BB, 34 K, 0-3 SB

Martinez opened the season in AA, again splitting his time between short and second.  He struggled at the plate and, at mid-season, the Nationals sent him back to high A, where he played mainly at second.  He did the best hitting of his career after the demotion.

2010
AA:  253/298/393, 359 AB, 14 2B, 6 3B, 8 HR, 20 BB, 54 K, 15-24 SB
AAA:  325/353/452, 126 AB, 7 2B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 20 K, 8-11

Martinez went back to AA and showed a little power at the plate, although he otherwise didn’t hit very well.  He did much better after a promotion to AAA.  He played mainly second, but also saw time in center and at short.  After the season, the Phillies selected him in the Rule 5 draft.

2011
MLB:  196/258/282, 209 AB, 5 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 18 BB, 35 K, 3-3 SB 

Martinez stayed on the Phillies’ roster all year.  Due to injuries to Chase Utley and Placido Polanco, he probably got more playing time than expected.  Aside from second and third, he also saw time at short and in center.  He struggled at the plate.

2012
A+:  333/375/400, 15 AB, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
AAA:  271/331/402, 107 AB, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 10 BB, 12 K, 3-4 SB
MLB:  174/208/252, 115 AB, 3 2B, 2 HR, 5 BB, 21 K

Martinez missed the first two months with a fractured right foot.  He divided the rest of the season between the majors and AAA.  He played all over, mainly third, short and the outfield in the majors.

2013
AAA:  300/352/407, 243 AB, 11 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 18 BB, 37 K, 6-11 SB
MLB:  175/175/175, 40 AB, 12 K, 1-1 SB

The Phillies outrighted Martinez to AAA after the 2012 season and that’s where he opened 2013, mainly playing shortstop.  The Phillies called him up and outrighted him back to AAA several times during the season.  He saw only limited action in the majors.  After the season the Phillies outrighted him again and he opted for free agency.

2014
AAA:  244/303/311, 315 AB, 6 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 29 BB, 46 K, 7-11 SB
MLB:  128/209/154, 39 AB, 1 2B, 4 BB, 13 K

Martinez spent the majority of the season in AAA, playing second, short, third, center and left.  He put up anemic hitting numbers through mid-June, but with Neil Walker on the disabled list and Josh Harrison day-to-day with an ankle injury, the Pirates called him up.  That callup didn’t last long, but in early July they called him back up for six weeks.  Even worse, they actually gave him seven starts.  Martinez was predictably awful during his time with the Pirates.  The Pirates’ current front office, though, continues to be fascinated with non-hitting veteran bench players.  This obsession proved costly when the combination of Martinez, Brent Morel and Jayson Nix combined to go 0-for-19 during the team’s seven-game losing streak in August.  The Pirates sent Martinez back to AAA when Andrew McCutchen returned from the disabled list in mid-August.  They then designated him for assignment to clear roster space for Chase d’Arnaud on September 2.  Not surprisingly, Martinez cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA.

Martinez is eligible for minor league free agency again.  It shouldn’t be difficult for the Pirates to find middle infield depth that presents at least a little chance of contributing offensively if called upon.  The traditional defense of bench players like Martinez is that defense is important.  Predictably, though, Martinez was called upon to pinch hit a dozen times, which amounted to over a quarter of his plate appearances and nearly a third of his games played.  Offense for bench players does matter.