With opt-out looming, Martinez dazzles to close season

CHICAGO -- If Friday's game vs. the Cubs was the final start with the Reds for Nick Martinez, it was a fitting farewell performance despite a 1-0 loss. With his first complete game in the big leagues, Martinez showed both how much he'd help Cincinnati's rotation next season by staying while also increasing the likelihood of him going elsewhere.

The two-year, $26 million contract Martinez signed in the offseason includes an opt-out clause after this season.

“Still fresh off that start, but yeah, definitely decisions to be made," said Martinez, who allowed one earned run and five hits over eight innings with no walks and three strikeouts.

Cincinnati's offense couldn't support Martinez's effort, as the club dropped its fourth straight game, including all three since Freddie Benavides became interim manager. It was the 15th shutout the Reds have been dealt this season and the fourth by a 1-0 score.

The game was played in just one hour and 48 minutes, making it the fastest nine-inning Major League game played since Cleveland vs. Detroit finished in 1:44 on June 2, 2010.

“A CG win would’ve been better. It’s pretty cool to get nonetheless," said Martinez, who had three complete games pitching in Japan in 2018.

Martinez, 34, ended his 2024 with a 10-7 record and 3.10 ERA in 42 games (16 starts). In 11 starts since returning to the rotation on Aug. 5, he posted a 2.42 ERA and a 0.83 ERA over his final five. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his 6.44 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the best for a Reds pitcher (minimum 100 innings) since 1900.

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“I’ve always felt like I could start," Martinez said. "I feel like I’ve shown that in the past and I showed that again. I’ll probably have to continue to show that. That will be my mentality. Winning is going to be most important to me. Whatever capacity that is, I’m up for it.”

“It would be big for our team next year," Benavides said about Martinez returning. "This is a guy who can do a little bit of everything, but he’s been outstanding his last couple of months starting. So versatile, anything we need … He’s proven he’s a legitimate starter in this league. He’s got the opt-out. I hope he doesn’t take it for our sake. We’ll see where it lands. I wish he would stay.”

With a stiff wind blowing in at Wrigley Field, offense was hard to come by for both clubs. Martinez made it work for him by using his sinker, cutter and four-seam fastball.

"Knowing what the wind was doing, I played to the elements and at times, tried to see how far they can hit it, knowing it’s going to be a benefit for me," Martinez said.

Chicago had two singles until Nico Hoerner led off the fifth inning with a double to left field. Pete Crow-Armstrong moved Hoerner to third base with a sacrifice bunt. Miguel Amaya followed with a sacrifice fly to right field. Jake Fraley made a good throw, but Hoerner scored with a headfirst slide just ahead of Tyler Stephenson's tag at the plate.

“It came down to fundamental baseball," Benavides said. "I thought Martinez was outstanding today. He was very efficient. Fifteen pitches was his max in an inning.”

The low-scoring game only further underscored why the Reds have to be smarter with their baserunning next season. In the first inning against Jameson Taillon, Elly De La Cruz hit a one-out drive to the warning track in left-center field that got caught in the wind but was dropped.

De La Cruz could have stopped at second base for the easy double, but he pressed for a triple and was thrown out by Crow-Armstrong's throw to third base.

“The ball is in front of him," Benavides said. "We did talk about it a little bit when he came in. The ball was in front of him. He’s got to realize that [Crow-Armstrong] has got a great arm. It’s something me and him talked about, we addressed. It’s a mistake and he’s going to learn from it. Hopefully, in the near, near future, it doesn’t happen again.”

With a free-agent market that almost always enriches quality starting pitchers, and Martinez's agent being Scott Boras, it's almost certain that he will opt out and try for a multi-year deal elsewhere. If he stayed, Martinez would earn $12 million with Cincinnati -- unless a multi-year contract could somehow be worked out.

What could help the Reds' chances is that Martinez enjoyed being on the team.

“Absolutely, no question about it. It’s been an amazing clubhouse," Martinez said. “It’s important to me. You definitely want to avoid toxic clubhouses. I think having a good clubhouse is key to having a winning team and having a deep run into the playoffs.”