Yankees starting catcher, Russell Martin, is arbitration eligible after the season and according to George A. King III of the New York Post, the 28-year old has expressed an interest to remain in New York.

“Right now I want to finish this year and be on the way to where I want to be,” Martin said. “This makes you feel like a kid playing in a tournament. That feeling is taking all my energy. I don’t think about next year at all.”

“If you are asking me if I want to be here, yes, but they are in a nice position with the quality of kids they have,” he added. “Those kids are good and they aren’t afraid at all. Austin, the game slows down for. Montero, sometimes the games speeds up but he will be good. He knows he has to work.”

King says that the Yankees would be foolish to let him go even if he makes $8 million next season. He says that Martin has provided above-average defense and he has worked well with the Yankees’ staff. In 2011 Martin is hitting .236/.322/.410 with 17 HR’s and 61 RBI’s in 390 AB’s.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.