Pitchers vouch for free-agent Martin

Two Yankees pitchers voiced their support yesterday for freeagent catcher Russell Martin.

“I think it’s important. He’s been a great addition to our team, on and off the field,” CC Sabathia said of resigning Martin. “That’s not in my department, though. But we’ll have to just wait and see what happens. But he’s been great for us.”

Derek Lowe, who also is set to be a free agent, is unlikely to return to The Bronx. But the veteran righty raved about Martin, whom he has known since the two were teammates with the Dodgers. Lowe pointed out the value of Martin’s power, the defensive improvement he has made and the significance of Martin having proven he can handle playing in New York.

“I had him in L.A.,” Lowe said. “He’s actually probably gotten a little bit better as far as catching because of experience, and with [bench coach] Tony Pena here being a catching guy. There’s not many catchers that are going to hit you 20 home runs and drive in I don’t know how many he had, call a great game, throw guys out. From that standpoint, he’s a guy that’s only getting better. Again, I can say that because I’ve played with him back in L.A., and I’ve seen the progression in a positive way.

“I know this, and you guys know this, it’s hard to bring guys in here that maybe you don’t know how they’re going to perform. And once you have people here that you know can perform here, in my opinion, you’ve got to keep them. Because you know what you’re going to get.”

Martin slammed a careerhigh 21 homers this season, ranking eighth among MLB backstops. Martin, who turns 30 in February, hit a careerworst .211 this season but posted a respectable .713 OPS. He also is considered solid defensively.

Considering his strengths and with few other options on the freeagent market, Martin has a legitimate shot at returning to the Yankees.