Why Martinez's dollars make sense

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- When the Reds made a qualifying offer earlier this month to free agent pitcher Nick Martinez, many expressed surprise that they would risk spending $21.05 million if he accepted.

That wasn't how president of baseball operations Nick Krall and his staff saw it after Martinez accepted the offer on Monday.

“I wouldn’t say there was a risk," Krall said on Tuesday. "We were either going to get a guy for a one-year deal at $21 million that we felt like was market for this guy or we were going to get a Draft pick out of it when somebody else signed him. We felt it was a pretty good win-win whichever way we ended.”

• Martinez accepts qualifying offer, stays with Reds

There were multiple reasons the Reds were comfortable with making the qualifying offer.

Had Martinez signed elsewhere, Cincinnati would have received a compensation Draft pick. But for $21.05 million, the Reds landed Martinez after he had a 4.0 bWAR and 3.10 ERA for them last season during the 34-year-old's career year. Good luck finding a pitcher capable of being worth that many wins without paying as much in money or as the return in a trade.

“We’re really excited to have him back," Krall said. "You get a one-year deal on a guy that’s got a chance to be a solid part of your rotation. He’s got versatility. He pitched, obviously, in a variety of roles last year -- starter, reliever … after an opener. He wasn’t worried about that. He just came and took the ball whenever we wanted [him] to and produced quality innings.”

To compare, Cincinnati gave Frankie Montas a one-year, $16 million contract when he was coming off a 2023 in which he was limited by an arm injury to 1 1/3 innings for the whole season. He posted a 0.6 bWAR with a 5.01 ERA in 19 starts for the Reds before he was traded to the Brewers on July 30.

Although Martinez and Krall were both open to multiyear contract talks to extend the right-hander's stay, there currently is no long-term contract hanging over the club if Martinez is unable to replicate his career year in 2025.

"He was a great team guy," Krall said. "Good teammate, really good guy in the clubhouse. But it was a lead-by-example guy that you really just want to watch. He goes out and does his work. It’s the way he does his in-between starts stuff, the way he goes about working out, making sure he’s ready to go whenever you need him in whatever role you needed him in.”

Finally, the Reds appear to have room in their budget. Last week, after announcing that MLB will be taking over the club's television production and distribution, Reds COO/CFO Doug Healy noted the club would "maintain payroll levels at or above 2024."

Having Martinez back may be costly, but it is one less hole for Krall to fill in the offseason. The Reds still want to add a bat for their offense, improve defensively and fill out their bullpen.

“We’re still just working through it," Krall said. "We’ll just continue to work through the offseason to see what’s out there and how we can make the club better.”

Martinez stabilizes a rotation that, when healthy, could be one of the league's deepest. Cincinnati is expected to have All-Star Hunter Greene, left-handers Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo, and impressive prospect Rhett Lowder. Carson Spiers and Graham Ashcraft are also likely in the mix.

Abbott, Lodolo and Ashcraft are all coming off of injuries, however.

“From a talent perspective, we have the talent to make a deep push and deep run into the playoffs," Martinez said. "Now, it’s turning the mindset to, ‘Let’s prepare for that.’ Those are things that were talked about at the end of last season.

“I was like, ‘I know I have this opt-out, but that shouldn’t really change your mindset. You guys have what it takes to help this team make a push for the playoffs and go deep into the playoffs. You guys are proven to pitch at this level. You have what it takes. Let’s switch it up and go get it. Let’s be ambitious.’ Obviously, they liked that message.”