Updating the complicated transaction path of now-former Cubs outfielder Leonys Martin, who was outrighted by the Cubs earlier this week (he was eligible for arbitration, but the Cubs weren’t going to tender him a contract at a rate that would have approached $5 million).
Because of his service time, Martin had the right to elect free agency when he was outrighted, and, according to Baseball America, that’s what he’s done.
So, then, Martin is now a free agent. After a couple defense-heavy years with the Rangers in 2013-14, Martin’s bat – which already had not developed – fell off even further, and his defensive abilities were not enough to keep him in as a regular with the Rangers and then the Mariners. By the time the Cubs acquired him this year, Martin had become a pinch runner and defensive-replacement type. He hit just .172/.232/.281 this season.
Just 29 and still superlative with the glove (remember how he ended the Cardinals’ season with this catch?), there will be a deal out there for Martin, with the Cubs or otherwise. I just think it’s most likely to be a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite at this point.
The Cubs could still use the depth, though they did re-acquire Jacob Hannemann, the defensively-inclined AAA outfielder they lost on waivers around the same time they grabbed Martin in the first place (probably not coincidentally, they lost him to the Mariners – the very team from whom they’d acquired Martin).