Reds' Nick Martinez: Agrees to terms with Cincinnati
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Martinez agreed to a two-year, $26 million contract with the Reds on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Martinez opted out of the final two years of his contract with the Padres in early November and will head to Cincinnati on a deal that includes an increased salary and an opt-out after the 2024 campaign. The right-hander was reliable in San Diego over the past two seasons, posting a 3.45 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 216.2 innings over 110 appearances (19 starts). Although he converted just nine of his 16 save chances, he picked up 23 holds, including a career-high 15 last year. The Reds already have one of the top closers in baseball in Alexis Diaz, and they signed Emilio Pagan to a one-year, $8 million contract Wednesday. Pagan should be available as a setup man, and Cincinnati has been rumored to be in the market to acquire several other pitchers during the offseason. However, Martinez could also see some setup duties ahead of Diaz and will also be available to serve as a starter or long reliever when needed.
Martinez and the Padres both declined their respective options for 2024 and 2025 on Saturday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The Padres held two $16 million options on Martinez for the next two seasons. The team declined both, converting them into $8 million player options, which Martinez also turned down. The 33-year-old reliever logged a 3.43 ERA and 1.26 WHIP while recording 15 holds, and he figures to draw a fair amount of attention from teams in need of multi-inning relief help.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Fans eight in win
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Martinez (6-4) earned the win Friday, allowing two hits and two walks over five scoreless innings against the White Sox. He struck out eight.
It was his longest outing since April 19, and the right-hander retired 11 straight batters at one point to help keep the White Sox at bay. The versatile Martinez contributed 110.1 quality innings for the Padres this season, starting nine of his 63 appearances while compiling six wins, 15 holds and one save with a 3.43 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 106 strikeouts.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Goes four scoreless innings
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Martinez allowed two hits and three walks while striking out three over four scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Cardinals on Saturday.
Martinez and Pedro Avila again worked in tandem, though Martinez threw 62 pitches to Avila's 47 and enjoyed better results. Through 14 innings in September, Martinez has allowed just one run while posting a 15:4 K:BB. He's at a 3.59 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 98:38 K:BB through 105.1 innings overall, and he's added a save and 15 holds while primarily working as a long reliever this season. If the Padres opt to stick with the tandem strategy for their fifth-starter spot, Martinez would be projected for a road outing versus the White Sox during the final series of the regular season.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Gets starting chance Saturday
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The Padres list Martinez as their probable starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Cardinals at Petco Park.
San Diego hasn't formally clarified its pitching plans for Saturday, but Martinez will likely be deployed in tandem with Pedro Avila after that pairing worked successfully this past Sunday in Oakland. In the Padres' 10-1 win over the Athletics, Martinez opened the game with five strikeouts over three scoreless, one-hit frames, while Avila followed with the exact same pitching line. Martinez could add an inning or two to his workload Saturday, though Avila would probably be the pitcher most likely to pick up a win if he ends up being available in bulk relief.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Fires three strong innings
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Martinez served as the Padres' opening pitcher in Sunday's 10-1 win over the Athletics, taking a no-decision while striking out five and allowing one hit and no walks over three scoreless innings.
Martinez allowed a first-inning single to Zack Gelof but otherwise put the clamps on the Oakland offense. The three innings and 40 pitches represented Martinez's heaviest workload since he tossed 59 pitches in an Aug. 19 appearance. Pedro Avila came on behind Martinez to toss three shutout innings in bulk relief, and the two could be deployed in tandem again during the Padres' series next weekend versus St. Louis. After the sterling outing Sunday, Martinez now has a 3.73 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 95:35 K:BB in 101.1 innings on the season.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Opening Sunday's game
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Martinez will serve as the Padres' opening pitcher for Sunday's game at Oakland.
Martinez has already made six starts this season, but he hasn't recorded more than nine outs in any appearance since April 19 and most recently pitched Wednesday, when he tossed an inning out of the bullpen. The Padres aren't likely to ask Martinez to work more than 1-to-3 innings before he turns the game over to Pedro Avila, who is expected to operate as a bulk reliever after starting in his last four appearances.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Tosses three scoreless innings
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Martinez allowed four hits and a walk while striking out one over three scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners on Tuesday.
Martinez started for the sixth time this season, including the second time within a week. He's pitched eight scoreless innings over three appearances in August, though Tuesday's outing was a bit less steady than his previous two. The right-hander is at a 3.55 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 75:28 K:BB through 83.2 innings this season. He's also picked up a save, 14 holds and a 5-4 record while primarily serving as a reliever.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Could make start Tuesday
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Martinez improved to 5-4 on the season in Saturday's 8-3 win over the Dodgers, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one batter over two scoreless innings. After the game, Padres manager Bob Melvin said in an interview with 97.3 The Fan San Diego that Martinez could start again Tuesday versus Seattle, despite the fact that he would be pitching on two days' rest.
After making a three-inning spot start in Colorado on Wednesday, Martinez returned to the bullpen Saturday and came through with two effective frames, earning the victory when the Padres rallied for seven runs in the eighth inning. The right-hander had been limited to 38 pitches in his start versus Colorado, as he was filling in for an injured Joe Musgrove (shoulder) and wasn't built up to anywhere near a full workload. After throwing 22 pitches in relief Saturday, Martinez would presumably be working in a short-inning opener capacity again if he does start Tuesday against the Mariners. The veteran hasn't thrown more than 50 pitches in any appearance since a seven-inning, 97-pitch start way back on April 19 against Atlanta.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Draws spot start Wednesday
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Martinez will start Wednesday's game against the Rockies at Coors Field after Joe Musgrove was scratched due to "minor" right shoulder soreness, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Martinez was part of the Padres' Opening Day rotation and has made four starts this season, but he's worked out of the bullpen exclusively since late April and made one-inning appearances Sunday and Monday. As such, Martinez won't be especially well rested ahead of the spot start, and the Padres may end up treating the series finale in Colorado as more of a bullpen day. San Diego could call up another pitcher from the minors to provide length behind Martinez, but no such transaction has been announced yet.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Pounced on by Pirates
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Martinez allowed five runs on four hits and a walk without retiring a batter during Pittsburgh's defeat of San Diego on Wednesday.
Martinez entered in the seventh inning with the game still very much in reach for the Padres, who were down 2-1 at the time. However, things quickly got out of hand for the veteran hurler, as he allowed all six hitters he faced to reach base on four singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Martinez had been one of San Diego's most reliable relievers over the first two months of the campaign, but he's taken a step back in June with a 9.26 ERA and 1.89 WHIP over 11.2 innings across 11 appearances.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Takes loss Tuesday
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Martinez (3-3) was tagged with the loss and a blown save Tuesday against the Giants, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk over 1.2 innings.
Martinez entered with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on base. He retired David Villar to escape the threat, but Martinez game up a game-tying solo shot to Joc Pederson leading off the eighth and allowed two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to reach base. One of those scored the winning run, tagging Martinez with the loss. Tuesday's performance was the second straight for Martinez in which he's been charged with two runs, but his ERA still sits at a respectable 3.30 on the campaign. He's added a 1.27 WHIP, 46:20 K:BB, nine holds and one save over 28 outings.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Notches third win
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Martinez (3-2) earned the win Tuesday against Miami, allowing a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning.
Martinez has been solid this month, pitching to a 1.69 ERA across 16 innings in May. The 32-year-old right-hander isn't overtaking Josh Hader for the closing job in San Diego, but he's been the team's top setup option and should see an expanded role with Luis Garcia (oblique) sidelined. Martinez sports a 2.76 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP and 37:17 K:BB this season.
