Breaking: Jarrod Saltalamacchia Close to Signing With Miami Marlins

Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Many people in baseball viewed Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the second best free agent catcher on the market this year. If he truly is, then the Marlins just scored a big win in free agency. “Salty” is close to signing a free agent deal with the Miami Marlins, according to Ken Rosenthal (on Twitter) of Fox Sports.

At $7 million per season, the Marlins are going to get some decent production out of the former Red Sox catcher. It’s highly doubtful that the Marlins offered Salty a “no-trade clause,” as the team is not planning on moving away from their policy in the past.

Saltalamacchia hit 14 home runs last year to go along with 40 doubles and a slash line of .273/.338/.466. These numbers are a significant upgrade to what Miami received last year from the position.

I have to believe that Salty will catch 4 to 5 times a week and Jeff Mathis will be the backup and spell Jarrod, particularly when the Marlins face a tough left hander, as Saltalamacchia struggles from the right side of the plate.

This signing goes against many people (myself included) that thought it would be virtually impossible to get any desirable free agent to sign in Miami after the Loria signing spree and subsequent trades last year. It looks like the lure of South Beach and no state income tax is a powerful persuader.

A signing like this means that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was serious when he said he was going to open up the purse strings, at least a little bit, to pursue some help in the lineup.

We are still waiting to hear exactly what the terms of the contract are, but as soon as they are announced, we will let you know. For all the latest follow us on Twitter and Facebook for all your breaking Marlins news. Let us know below what you think of the signing!