Edgar Martinez’s Number May Be Up ‘92 Batting Champ And His $3.5 Million Salary Possible Candidates For Trade

Third baseman Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners, the 1992 American League batting champion, is prepared for the worst.

In a decision ordered by the Mariners’ ownership to trim the franchise’s player payroll after baseball’s 232-day strike, the 32-year-old Martinez may have to go in a trade.

Martinez doesn’t want to leave the only team he’s ever played for, but he’s realistic. There may not be a 13th year in the Mariners’ organization for him.

Seattle general manager Woody Woodward isn’t mentioning any names, but Martinez can read between the lines. He will earn $3.5 million in the final year of his contract.

“If there’s a move to be made, yeah, there’s a chance it could be me,” he said Saturday. “It’s been in the back of my mind. I’ve been thinking about it. I would like to finish for this team. That’s not always the way it goes in this business, though.”

In the aftermath of the devastating strike that hit the players and the owners so hard economically, major-league baseball has taken on a different look this spring. Players have been changing teams at a dizzying pace. There are a glut of free agents.

It’s been a buyers’ market and the owners are cutting costs.

“There’s been a lot of players going to different teams and a lot of moves,” Martinez said. “It’s hard to tell what’s going to happen to many players. I’ll tell you, anything can happen from now on.”

Martinez may be the most expendable of the Mariners’ top-salaried players because the Mariners have Mike Blowers to play third, too. And the Mariners’ front office may feel Martinez’s best seasons are behind him after two injury-interrupted seasons.

Martinez thinks he can regain the hitting touch that let him hit .343 with 18 home runs, 46 doubles and 73 RBIs in 1992, when he became the first Mariner to win a battling title.

All he needs to do is stay healthy, he said.

“I remember the way I felt at the plate that season,” he said, smiling. “That’s what sticks out in my mind a lot. Mostly I remember the way I felt. I think I can do it again. I just have to work and be on the field every day.”

In 1993, a pulled left hamstring left him hobbled all season. He hit .237 in 42 games. He was on the disabled list three times because of his injury. It was hard to hit with one healthy leg.

In the strike-shortened ‘94 season, Martinez hit .285 in 89 games with 13 homers and 51 RBIs after being hit on the wrist by Dennis Martinez on opening day in Cleveland. He had to go on the disabled list and missed 17 games before being able to play in May.

It was hardly vintage Martinez, who batted .307 in ‘91 and .302 in ‘90.

“The last two years have been very frustrating, not being able to play and perform,” he said. “It’s hard to be hurt for so long.

“I’ve been through some difficult times. The year I won the batting title is not that long ago. But sometimes it seems like a long, long time ago.”