Catcher-turned-broadcaster will reportedly fill Buck Martinez's seat in the booth

Buck Martinez has called his last MLB game on television. The beloved broadcaster announced his retirement from the booth this past February, ending a relationship with the Blue Jays organization that began in 1981. The 77-year-old Martinez was a fan favorite as a player, manager and broadcaster of the team, and left big shoes to fill on the Sportsnet broadcasts.

Stepping up to replace him will be another former big league catcher and a face many Blue Jays fans are already familiar with and that's Joe Siddall.

Former catcher-turned-broadcaster to fill Buck Martinez's seat in the booth

Siddall is already an analyst for Sportsnet and the company (which also owns the Blue Jays) has yet to officially announce this decision, but a source to Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun confirmed that the Windsor, Ontario native is the next guy up.

This is not a foreign role for Siddall who stepped into the booth last season when Martinez was on medical leave. He's also a constant presence on Blue Jays Central as an analyst before, during and after the broadcasts. It's reported that Siddall will work alongside play-by-play man Dan Shulman for up to 130 games, while another former big league catcher, Caleb Joseph, will handle the rest. Joseph has been the colour analyst on the Fan 590 radio broadcasts of Blue Jays games for the last few seasons.

Siddall spoke to JaysJournal writer Robbie Zaitchik in August about his playing days and his transition to the broadcast booth. He detailed how an email from former Blue Jays radio broadcaster Jerry Howarth changed his life after Siddall lost his youngest son, Kevin, to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at 14.

"I got an email from Jerry Howarth sending his condolences. I said 'thank you very much' and I also told him that I looked forward to seeing him in the broadcast booth. I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a goofy comment," says Siddal.

Howarth responded with, 'how about right now?"' as the Blue Jays were auditioning for a new radio analyst. He made his broadcasting debut during a Spring Training game between the Blue Jays and Phillies in 2014. From there he would spend four years working on the radio side next to Howarth before moving over to joining Jamie Campbell on Blue Jays Central.

With Siddall's move to the tv broadcast booth that opens up a spot on Blue Jays Central. It's likely Joseph fills that role but there are also rumors that Kevin Pillar, who has done work in the past with Sportsnet and is dabbling in the podcast world, could join Campbell on that studio show. Pillar makes a lot of sense as a recently retired player and a former fan favourite during one of the Blue Jays better runs in franchise history as he was part of the playoff teams in 2015 and '16.