Following the 2014 season, Pittsburgh Pirates fans were sad to see the departure of catcher Russell Martin, who left Pittsburgh for greener pastures. By greener pastures, I mean that he made lots of green money signing a five-year, $82 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. For reference, Martin had just finished a two-year, $17 million deal with the Pirates. Although he outperformed his contract by a large margin during his time in Pittsburgh, the team was never going to spend real money to keep him around. I digress.
Heading into the 2015 season, the Pirates needed a new catcher.