One of the best Free Agent acquistions that made the most sense, Nick Martinez, has been awarded September National League Pitcher of the Month, an award from MLB at the end of each month; only one player from each league can win: one from the National League, and one from the American League.
Martinez’ September was dazzling out of the SP role
Martinez made 5 starts in September and had a 0.83 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. Over the whole month, he only gave up 3 earned runs. He had a 4:30 BB:K ratio, which was absolutely dominant. This is the type of production that could’ve propelled a good team to the playoffs…the problem is, the Cincinnati Reds in 2024 were not a good team and will instead watch the playoffs from the couch.
Nick Martinez Roster Status
When it comes to Nick Martinez status as a Cincinnati Red, there’s a lot of questions. First off, his agent is Scott Boras, a dude known for getting his players top dollar. Second, and the biggest real issue, even though Nick Martinez signed a 2 year deal worth $26,000,000 guaranteed, the Cincinnati Reds & Nick Krall lured him to pitch at Great American Ballpark giving him a player opt-out clause in his contract. Martinez posted 4.0 bWAR this year, making him a prime opt-out candidate, especially since he got $14M in his 1st year, versus the $12M in his 2nd. It is a given he will opt-out.
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So, now that we know Nick Martinez is going to opt-out, unofficially, but come on guys, read the above again, he’s opting out, what can Nick Krall and Brad Meador do to maintain that little bit of control they have in the situation? They can offer him a Qualifying Offer. The 2025 QO is currently slated at $21,500,000 – IF the Reds offer him a QO, Nick Martinez would be making $21.M in 2025 and remain a Cincinnati Reds player.
Is that the smart thing to do?
Seeing as Nick Martinez solidifed his abilities in the swing man role, then moving into the starting pitching role once a bunch of injuries happened to the Reds staff, hell yes it’s the right thing to do. Nick Martinez earned himself an additional $45-50M somewhere. I’d keep him another year, if I can. Even though the Reds offer that QO, Nick & Boras can still reject it, however, once he rejects it, the Reds will be gifted a compensation pick, likely in round 2 of the MLB Draft in 2025, which would be a welcoming gift. We all need to hope that Nick Martinez chooses to stick around – he was the one FA acquistion I was genuinely excited for because his role made sense, unlike giving Candelario $45M and it making no sense. Let’s hope we can retain him.
