Pedro Martinez

It’s time for another crazy, ridiculous proposition. Pedro Martinez, currently pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, is a free agent. He has threatened to retire, but has also expressed his desire to pitch competitively again.

Martinez has said repeatedly that he feels “great” and is ready to pitch at any time. Of course, that’s what he said before last year… and we all know how that turned out.

The biggest hindering point is the fact that Martinez is 38 years old. That’s ancient history in baseball terms. Any baseball player who was alive for more than five years of the 70s should seriously reconsider his choice of profession.

That being said, Martinez could provide a year’s worth of quality starts.

If the Twins could manage to sign Martinez to a one-year deal for pocket change, would he be worth a place in the starting five?

Absolutely not.

If Martinez is added, Perkins would be the odd-man-out. While his presence in the bullpen would be nice, his absense from the rotation would be silly. Consider if you will the tale of the two unnamed pitchers:

Pitcher A

5-6, 5.61 ERA, 109 IP, 87 SO, 44 BB, 19 HR

Pitcher B

12-4, 4.41 ERA, 151 IP, 74 SO, 39 BB, 25 HR

Obviously, the former is Martinez and the latter is Perkins. Is this “case” as open-and-shut as I think it is? Is there any reason at all to pursue Martinez to even the least degree? Let me know what you think in the comment section.