Andy Marte, 24 years old, is the back up third baseman for the Cleveland Indians. As of June 11, here are his 2008 statistics.
46 AB, .152 BA, 3 R, 1 SB
There you have it. Zero RBI's, no homers, and just one of Marte’s seven hits was a double.
One might say this guy isn't worth writing about, but Andy’s situation is unique and deserves some attention. First, let’s catch everyone up.
Marte started his career in the Atlanta Braves farm system as a highly rated third base prospect. On June 7, 2005, after batting .275 and collecting an impressive 20 HR and 74 RBI for the Richmond Braves, Andy was called to the majors. His early success did not transfer to the bigs, however, as Marte finished the year with a .140 BA in 57 at bats. At the end of the 2005 season, the Atlanta Braves agreed to a new contract with Chipper Jones, and Andy Marte became expendable.
On December 8, 2005, Marte was traded to the Boston Red Sox for shortstop Edgar Renteria and cash considerations. A month later, Boston dealt Marte along with relief pitcher Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named, and cash considerations to the Cleveland Indians for centerfielder Coco Crisp, catcher Josh Bard, and relief pitcher David Riske.
After spending half the 2006 summer playing third base for AAA Buffalo, Marte was called up by the Indians in July. In his first season with the Tribe, Marte hit .226 with 5 HR and 23 RBI in 164 AB.
The young prospect started the 2007 season as the Indians everyday third baseman. The results were putrid (.179 batting average), and Marte was sent to AAA Buffalo before the end of April.
Now let’s fast forward to 2008. Some fans are calling for Marte to be sent to the minors. Not a bad thought, but Andy Marte is out of minor league options. Part of the reason Marte made the roster in April was due to his lack of options. If a player is out of minor league options, he must clear waivers before being assigned to the minors. Andy Marte would likely be taken off of waivers by another ballclub if the Indians tried sending him down. For those interested in reading up on the rules governing baseball transactions, ESPN’s Rob Neyer wrote a good article. I will probably refer back to some of the rules in later posts.
Keeping in mind the Indians cannot send Marte to AAA, the club may do one of three things.
1. Continue using him as a back up third baseman.
2. Cut him.
3. Start him.
Which one did you choose? I choose 3. Yes, start a guy batting .152. Start a guy with no home runs, no triples, and one double in 46 at bats. Start Andy Marte, and do it everyday. The Indians could continue to regularly use 34 year old journey man Casey Blake at third or try to develop a younger player with more upside. I choose the upside. In my opinion, Blake has more value coming off the bench anyway. My lineup would feature Marte at third base with Blake backing up 3B, 1B, and occasionally OF.
Simply put, Andy Marte needs to play daily to have a chance to develop into a major league player. The Indians are not giving him the chance. Start him or cut him, make your choice Mark Shapiro.
To those that chose option 2, "cut him," I point to Jeremy Guthrie and Brandon Phillips, great examples of players the Indians gave up on too early. Guthrie is now a number 2 starter for the Baltimore Orioles, while the Cincinnati Reds thank Cleveland daily for dropping a future all star second baseman.
I’d rather the Indians not make the same mistake a third time. Start Marte.
