Yankees Lose 24-12 months-Previous Backstop to Angels in Free Company

[ad_1] Whereas the winter conferences are producing buzz about big-name gamers in Orlando, different free-agent signings have been quietly happening throughout Main League Baseball.

Over Thanksgiving week, numerous minor leaguers signed contracts with new organizations that weren't mirrored on the official MLB.com transactions wire till a number of days later. A kind of offers was signed by former New York Yankees farmhand Omar Martinez, a 24-year-old catcher who elected free company in November after over seven years within the group.

Martinez, who reached Triple-A for the primary time this previous season after starting the 12 months in Excessive-A, is headed to a company with a much less crowded catching pipeline on the higher ranges of the minors: the Los Angeles Angels.

<img id="11183920" alt="" caption="ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 16: A detailed view of a Los Angeles Angels logo in the dugout during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 16, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="7006" height="4670" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2167110942-1.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2167110942-1.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2167110942-1.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2167110942-1.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2167110942-1.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2167110942-1.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2167110942-1.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> On Nov. 28, Martinez signed a minor-league cope with the Angels, in keeping with the transactions wire on his official roster web page. It took a number of further days for the deal to indicate up on the positioning, a marker of how a lot goes on behind the scenes in the course of the offseason that typically goes unnoticed.

In 104 video games throughout three ranges of competitors this 12 months, Martinez slashed .220/.319/.358 with 12 house runs and 55 RBIs. He had an OPS of a minimum of .778 in every of his earlier 4 minor-league campaigns, so there could possibly be extra manufacturing within the bat as he adjusts to the higher ranges of the minors.

Los Angeles has a beginning catcher who struggles on protection in Logan O'Hoppe and a veteran backup in Travis d'Arnaud who seems to be declining on either side of the ball. They projected to have a necessity within the coming years for some gifted minor leaguers who may become high quality defensive backups, and Martinez could possibly be a stable addition from that perspective.

As for the Yankees, it is extra urgent to resolve whether or not Ben Rice or J.C. Escarra would be the backup catcher this 12 months than it's to fret about shedding Martinez.