Blue Jays: The top five Canadian-born Jays in franchise history

2- Russell Martin (8.2 bWAR over four seasons)

This is likely where some of you are going to start to disagree with me, but at least let me lay out my argument before you curse me too loudly.

Martin signed a five year, 82 million dollar deal to come to the Blue Jays, and he’s a classic example of overpaying a veteran at the back end in order to get immediate value. The thing is, the Blue Jays got exactly that, as the veteran backstop was a crucial figure in helping the team reach the post-season for the first time in more than two decades, and I honestly believe it doesn’t happen without him.

He brought a contribution to the lineup with a slashline of  .225/.336/.399 with 66 home runs, 59 doubles, and 211 RBI over 447 games in a Blue Jays uniform, but it was his defensive presence that made an even greater impact. He was a solid backstop and controlled the running game as he had throughout his career, but it was the way he helped improve the pitching staff that arguably brought the most value.

Couple that with a veteran voice for the locker room, and more importantly, one who had been to the post-season many times before, and he was a perfect fit for the Blue Jays when they signed him. Yes, the Blue Jays had to pay him a lot of money at the end of the contract at a time when he wasn’t the same player anymore, but that was a price that Alex Anthopoulos was willing to pay at the time, and I still think it was the right call.

It’s hard to say if we’ve seen the last of Russell Martin in the big leagues, especially as he remains a free agent during the work stoppage, but either way, he’ll be fondly remembered for his time in Toronto.