Gibbons: Russell Martin still unable to play back-to-back days

Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin was out of the starting lineup again on Saturday night in Tampa Bay as he continues to deal with a lingering neck injury.

Martin eventually entered out of necessity, working one inning after Matt Dominguez pinch-hit for Josh Thole.

Prior to the game, manager John Gibbons told reporters that Martin would catch Marcus Stroman on Sunday’s series finale, but is not yet ready to start in back-to-back games. 


After a slow start at the plate, Martin’s injury has extended that poor performance over the past several games. In his past five starts, the former all-star is just 3-for-16 with 12 strikeouts. His season average sits at .150.

Despite throwing out just two of seven would-be base stealers this season, Martin’s defensive skills do buoy his value even when his bat falls quiet. This is especially true when working with young pitchers like Stroman and Aaron Sanchez, or even Roberto Osuna out of the bullpen.

Unless Martin’s neck injury clears up soon, however, the Blue Jays will be forced to turn to Thole on too frequent a basis outside of his regular work with R.A. Dickey.

Thole is 5-for-27 (.185) this season, but without much push from the depth behind him, Toronto is left very thin when it comes to alternative options. Tony Sanchez, the former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher who is now with triple-A Buffalo, has scuffled early to a .167 average in nine games. A.J. Jimenez has similar numbers with a .172 average in eight games.

If Martin does need a brief stint on the disabled list at any point this season, it’s still likely that one of those two would leapfrog Thole into the starting role.