Why Nick Martinez is an overlooked fit for the Cubs |
Dustin Riese
· · 4 hours ago
When the 2025 MLB season was set to kick off, many experts felt the Cincinnati Reds could be the dark horse of the NL Central. After all, they brought in a Hall of Fame manager in Terry Francona while also having one of the best pitching staffs in the National League. Whether it be Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, or Nick Lodolo, the Reds have one of the best top three in the game, who are all capable of shutting any lineup down.
It was the bottom of their rotation that was often the issue, and that appears to be the question again as both their No. 4 and No. 5 starters are on the free-agent market. One pitcher who has been overlooked a lot this offseason doesn't have a busy market, and he should be a name the Cubs target if they need late-season rotation depth. That name is 35-year-old right-hander Nick Martinez, who is looking for one last contract. One of those swing-men on a pitching staff, Martinez has bounced between reliever and starter ever since stepping on a big league mound in 2014. Up to this point, he has logged 280 career games with 129 coming as starts and has gone 48-59 in those games. While the overall record isn't what you look for when adding talent, his 4.16 ERA suggests his record should be better than it looks, as he has pitched better than the results indicate. Take this past season for the Reds as a prime example of that, as Martinez started the season in the rotation before moving to the pen by season's end. Even at that, he was one of the busier men on this team, making 26 starts and 40 overall appearances that totaled a career best 165 innings. That was more than 24 innings higher than at any point in his career, as Martinez not only showed he could give you innings, but proved to be a durable arm even this late in his career. His 11 wins this season not only caught the attention of many teams but also set a career high, surpassing his previous mark of 10 in 2024. The 14 losses were an issue, but with a 4.46 ERA overall, many of those losses can't be put on him, as the Reds didn't turn out to be as good a team as expected. His 2024 was better overall, going 10-7 with a 3.16, which was also a career best for him. That makes 24-21 in two seasons with the Reds while posting a 3.62 ERA in one of the more hitter-friendly environments in the game. Not bad, all things considered, especially for someone who would slide in nicely to the back of any rotation. Before his recent turnaround, Martinez was another of those products who took his talents to Japan, hoping to turn his career around after some early struggles. While in Japan, Martinez was nothing more than a .500 pitcher overall, going 26-26, but it was the 2.93 ERA that stood out. Whatever he figured out overseas has worked for him since returning to the States, as he has put together his best two seasons in MLB. Not known as a velocity guy, Martinez is more of a finesse pitcher who makes a living throwing in the 92-94 MPH range. With that comes a mid-80s change-up and a low-80s breaking ball as Martinez has no problems keeping hitters off balance. Despite his lack of velocity, Martinez knows how to pitch and is a strike thrower, as evidenced by his 42 walks in 165 innings. The 116 strikeouts are well below the league average, but you get what you get from Martinez, and no one is going to change that at this point in his career. He is the classic case of someone looking to land a short-term deal, as he could sign a contract similar to the one Colin Rea signed last year. If that is an option, why not add him to this roster? The Cubs need more depth across the board, especially on the starting pitching front.
