CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Nick Martinez takes a second to pause and consider the question: Are you the type of pitcher who gets better later in the season?
“I like to think so,” Martinez said.
He followed that path in 2024, and he’s trending in the right direction again as the stretch run approaches this year. But what Martinez can do as a starting pitcher over the next two months isn’t what’s on his mind. He shifts the conversation in that direction.
“As we get closer to the playoffs, those games start to mean a lot,” Martinez said. “Obviously, we want to finish strong. I really want these guys to feel that feeling. That feeling of playing really meaningful games. The kind of fire that brings to the clubhouse and to yourselves. It’s really fun baseball.”
Martinez, who picked up the win in Friday’s 5-2 Reds victory over the Rays, isn’t here because the Reds guaranteed him that he’d get a chance to be a starter all season. In fact, there’s talk about moving Martinez into a hybrid bullpen role when Hunter Greene returns from the injured list.
Martinez easily could have declined the $21 million qualifying offer from the Reds last November, tested the free agent market and landed a pretty nice payday at 34 years old. Instead, he bet on himself and bet on the Reds.
His 4.69 ERA this season is far from flashy, but Martinez has the second-most quality starts on the team as well as the second-most innings. He’ll make himself available out of the bullpen between starts. He’s one of the best clubhouse guys the Reds have had over the last few years.
“He competes like crazy,” Terry Francona said. “It’s very contagious. If it gets to me, I’m sure it’s getting to his teammates. He’s just what you’re looking for. He’s not going to back down. He’s going to give you everything he has. And he’s going to enjoy doing it.”
The conversation at this point of year always revolves around the trade deadline. Following Friday’s win over the Rays, the Reds cut their deficit in the Wild Card race down to one game. The product hasn’t been consistent enough yet, but the Reds have shown that they’re capable of playing some good baseball.
“We’re aware of the trade deadline looming,” Martinez said. “The boys want to play. The boys want to win. We want to make a push. We’re certainly playing like it.”
He added, “No one in there wants to sell. We want to win.”At this point, with the quality baseball the Reds have been playing for most of the last two months, selling looks more unlikely. But in the case that they did, Martinez would be the player who the Reds’ front office would receive the most calls about. Every team in baseball can use Martinez, who’s the most versatile pitcher in the sport. He’d be a season-changing piece right now on teams like the Dodgers, Yankees and Cubs. It isn’t a standout class of starters on the trade market this season, and Martinez is in a contract year.
He’d fetch a pretty good return, but he carries a significant amount of value to the Reds. Cincinnati needs him right now more than the Reds ever have during Martinez’s two-year Reds career.
Looking at the rotation, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo are pitching at a high level. Brady Singer has struggled, but his durability is an asset. Chase Burns is flashing his potential, but the Reds really have to manage his innings. Hunter Greene is on a rehab assignment and is trending toward a return in the next few weeks, but he’s coming back from a tricky groin injury and will have to get into a rhythm again when he returns from the IL. Carson Spiers and Rhett Lowder are out for a while.
The rotation depth is already a question, and trading Martinez would crush that depth.
“We’re going to have to manage Burns and his innings coming up soon,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, we’re getting Hunter back sometime soon. We can manage it. Rhett has a chance to help us at the very end. We’ll see where that lies. It’s TBD. We can manage it ok provided no one goes down. We’ve got some guys in Triple-A who can help us. To what degree, I’m not exactly sure. Hopefully we don’t have to dip too far into the pot there.”
In 2021, 2023 and 2024, the Reds season ended when they ran out of pitching. Chase Petty is the Reds’ top starter in Triple-A, but the 22-year-old prospect still working through some stuff.
“For him, it’s going to take a full year of Triple-A for him to really understand where he’s at,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to remember that he’s 22 years old. He has a lot to figure out about himself anyway. It’s part of learning your craft. He has done well. He’ll continue to keep going. We’ve got good people trying to help him out. It’s just a matter of time to try to figure things out.”
The Reds need quality pitching to get through the season. Martinez is a pillar of that plan along with the other starters in the Reds’ current rotation.
Then, there’s the best case scenario with everyone staying healthy and Greene returning from the IL and making an immediate impact. In that case, Martinez’s versatility would unlock the best version of this pitching staff.
“Martinez is obviously proven and is willing to bounce back and forth and be in that swing role,” Brad Meador said. “That can be a possibility at some point if we’re at full strength. Those are decisions to be made a little bit further down the road.”
One way to manage Burns’ innings would be using Martinez as a piggyback starter with him. Maybe Martinez just piggybacks Burns in games the Reds are winning. Martinez is as trusted as any of the Reds’ relievers, so Francona could put Martinez in a high-leverage spot to close out a game with a multi-inning appearance. Martinez also could slot in from time-to-time for a spot start to buy Burns an extra day.
You could call it a “rover” role with Martinez filling high-leverage bulk innings and providing the bullpen the versatility that it’s lacking while also making some sporadic starts.
“It’s so good because he can do either one (starting or relieving),” Johnson said. “He’s willing to do either one. We’re probably going to have to make some choices here coming up and figure out what we’re going to do on a couple of different ends. He’ll factor into that for sure.”
For now, Martinez is a flat out quality starting pitcher. The numbers on the season may not totally reflect it, but Martinez hasn’t also yet reached the ceiling that he has shown that he brings to the table. For example, his command and pitch efficiency can take a realistic step forward.
While Martinez isn’t an ace, he’s an experienced big game pitcher who wants to go through the postseason experience with this Reds core.
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