All-Star right-hander Nick Martinez is heading to free agency fresh off his excellent October with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Martinez chose to test the market by declining his half of a $20-million mutual option, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He'll instead receive a $4-million buyout from Tampa Bay.
Martinez joined the Rays on a one-year, $13-million deal in February and quickly became one of the AL champions' most reliable starters. The 36-year-old, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his career in July, authored a 3.10 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 109 strikeouts, and an MLB-best 1.3 BB/9 over 180 innings this season.
His stellar pitching continued into October, when Martinez allowed just five runs and no homers in 16 innings while tallying 12 strikeouts during the Rays' run to the World Series.
Martinez doesn't light up the radar gun or rack up strikeouts, but he still stands out in a thin pitching market as a veteran workhorse who can be deployed in a variety of roles. Since 2022, when he returned to the majors following a four-year stint in Japan, Martinez has averaged 141 innings per season despite not working as a full-time starter until this year.
In addition to watching Martinez enter free agency, the Rays opted to decline their half of a $10-million mutual option on outfielder Cedric Mullins in favor of a $500,000 buyout.
Mullins, an All-Star with Baltimore in 2021, put up a career-worst .628 OPS, along with 15 homers, 48 RBIs, and 21 steals, over 137 games in 2026. He made six appearances in the playoffs, primarily as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.
