Martin is entering his first year with the Pirates. (AP)

Pirates catcher Russell Martin has withdrawn from the upcoming World Baseball Classic, reports MLB.com's Tom Singer. The backstop had been lobbying to play shortstop for Team Canada.

“[The Pirates and Team Canada] were uneasy about that,” said Martin about playing short, “and I simply didn’t want to catch. It’s just too much grind. The catcher’s out there the whole game, and it just takes your body so long to recover from catching 20 innings or so ... I feel sorry for (Team Canada), but sometimes you just have to look out for what’s best for you. You have to make a personal choice. But I’m really sorry for how all this went down.”

Martin, 30, signed a two-year contract worth $17 million with Pittsburgh this past offseason. He served as Canada's catcher during the 2009 WBC and has played a handful of big league games in the infield, almost all that third base with a couple innings at second. It sure would have been fun to see Martin, who is much more athletic than your typical catcher, play short, but I can understand why the Pirates and Team Canada are wary.

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