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.
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Nick Martinez: Enters open market
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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 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: 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.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Snags first save
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Martinez picked up the save in Saturday's 16-11 victory over San Francisco, as he struck out five and didn't allow a baserunner across two shutout innings.
The right-hander began the season as a starter but has moved to the bullpen, with Joe Musgrove back in the rotation. Martinez was the most dominant pitcher for either team in a slugfest, as he struck out five of the six batters he faced. The save is likely to be an anomaly, as the Padres scored four insurance runs during the bottom of the eighth inning to eliminate the need for closer Josh Hader. Martinez has five shutout innings as a reliever this season and a 3.34 ERA overall.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Earns win in long relief
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Martinez (2-1) earned the win over Chicago on Wednesday, allowing three hits and striking out two batters over three scoreless frames.
Martinez came on in relief of Michael Wacha in the sixth inning and provided a bridge to closer Josh Hader, keeping Chicago off the board over three frames. Martinez tossed 34 of 50 pitches for a strike in his first appearance out of the bullpen this season. The right-hander began the campaign as a starter but was moved to a relief role when Joe Musgrove came off the IL on April 22.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Bound for bullpen
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Padres manager Bob Melvin confirmed prior to Saturday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks that Martinez will shift to the bullpen following Joe Musgrove's (toe/shoulder) return from the 15-day injured list, Bill Center of MLB.com reports. "We'll have Nick ready in the bullpen pretty quick, too. The very earliest is [Sunday]," Melvin said.
Even though Martinez lowered his ERA and WHIP to 4.01 and 1.22, respectively, after tossing seven scoreless frames and allowing just five baserunners in a win over Atlanta on Wednesday, the return of Musgrove means that the Friars won't have room in the rotation for Martinez or Ryan Weathers, who had also excelled through his first three starts of the campaign. While it's possible the Padres expand their rotation back to six men at some point and look to Martinez to fill the opening, the team will get by with a five-man setup for now with two off days on tap during the upcoming week. Martinez brought some value in a relief role in 2022 -- he accrued a 2.67 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 15.6 K-BB% while notching eight saves in 54 innings -- but most of those save chances came when the Padres' bullpen situation was more fluid and/or while Josh Hader battled command issues. Hader has righted the ship thus far in 2023 and has re-emerged as one of the game's elite closers, so Martinez doesn't look like he'll offer much more than ratio stabilization in his impending return to the bullpen.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Tosses seven scoreless frames
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Martinez (1-1) earned the win in a 1-0 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday, yielding three hits and two walks while striking out six batters over seven scoreless innings.
Martinez didn't allow any extra-base hits in the contest, and he appeared to get stronger as the game wore on, retiring 14 of the final 15 batters he faced. The Padres produced only one run in support of him, though that proved enough for the right-hander to pick up his first win of the campaign. Martinez struggled out of the gate by giving up eight earned runs over his first 11.2 innings of the season, but he's looked better since by notching consecutive quality starts during which he's allowed just three runs across 13 frames.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Notches first quality start
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Martinez did not factor in the decision against Milwaukee on Thursday, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out two batters over six innings.
Martinez was far from overpowering in the outing, as he allowed as many homers as he notched strikeouts. However, he kept San Diego in the game and finished with his first quality start of the campaign. The right-hander continued to struggle with his control, issuing three more walks to bring his season K:BB to 11:10 over 17.2 innings. Seth Lugo and Ryan Weathers have both pitched well at the back end of the Padres' rotation, so it will be interesting to see which of Lugo, Weathers and Martinez moves to the bullpen when Joe Musgrove (toe/shoulder) is able to return to action.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Walks five in no-decision
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Martinez gave up four runs on four hits and five walks across 4.2 innings during Friday's 5-4 win over Atlanta. He did not factor in the decision.
The 32-year-old was staked an early 3-0 lead but was unable to maintain the advantage. Martinez threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 23 batters he faced, but he struggled to put hitters away and tied a career high with five free passes. Through two starts, the right-hander has a 6.17 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 9:7 K:BB across 11.2 innings.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Coughs up four runs
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Martinez (0-1) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over seven innings against Colorado on Friday. He struck out five and took the loss.
Martinez coughed up a pair of runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning alone. He settled in for three scoreless frames before serving up a two-run shot to Charlie Blackmon in the fifth. It was the first time Martinez tossed seven innings since May 5 of last season. He threw a steady mix of five pitches, including a changeup that got 11 of his 15 total whiffs. Martinez is lined up to start in Atlanta next week.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Fans eight in spring start
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Martinez tossed 4.2 innings against Texas in a Cactus League contest Saturday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight batters.
Martinez served up a homer to the first batter he faced (Ezequiel Duran) in the outing, but the hurler gave up only one more run after that. He threw "84 or 85" pitches, per Sammy Levitt of 97.3 The Fan, and appears to be just about ready to go for the regular season. Martinez is tentatively lined up to make his first start April 1 at home against Colorado.
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Padres' Nick Martinez: Returns from WBC
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Martinez has returned to the Padres after playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, 97.3 The Fan San Diego reports.
Though Team USA remains alive in the tournament and is set to face Japan or Mexico in the final Tuesday, Martinez has opted to return to Padres camp to prepare for the regular season. The right-handed hurler pitched in one WBC game, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out two batters over 2.2 innings against Mexico. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Martinez's decision to rejoin San Diego stems from the fact that he wasn't scheduled to pitch again for Team USA. He's slated to fill a spot at the back end of the Padres' rotation this season.
