With the 2026 season behind us and the Hot Stove beginning to burn, we're taking a closer look at some of the most prominent players eligible for free agency.
Name: Nick Martinez
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Team: Tampa Bay Rays
Age (as of Opening Day 2027): 36
2026 stats: 15-6, 3.10 ERA, 180 IP, 1.09 WHIP, 109 K, 137 ERA+, 2.9 fWAR
This year’s free-agent class includes a number of top pitchers who will likely be seeking lengthy contracts, but for clubs looking for a shorter-term commitment from a top arm, there are options in that area, too.
Martinez posted a terrific season for the Rays in 2026, delivering on the one-year, $13 million contract he signed with Tampa Bay in February.
The right-hander returns to the free-agent market this offseason, and while he’s unlikely to land a long-term deal at the age of 36, he offers high upside and stability for clubs seeking rotation help.
Since returning in 2022 from a four-year stint in Japan, Martinez has posted a 3.53 ERA in 223 appearances (92 starts). This past season was the first of the past five years in which Martinez was used exclusively as a starter, taking the mound 31 times while averaging nearly six innings per start.
Martinez isn’t a strikeout pitcher -- he ranked in the bottom five percent in both strikeout and whiff percentage -- but his 1.3 walks per nine innings was the best in baseball and he ranked in the 88th percentile in hard-hit rate. The guy knows how to pitch despite not having the swing-and-miss stuff that many top pitchers possess.
Martinez predictably declined his end of a $20 million mutual option with the Rays, instead collecting a $4 million buyout to return to the open market. Martinez received a qualifying offer in 2025, so he is ineligible to receive one again this offseason.
Let’s take a look at how Martinez’s offseason might play out:
POTENTIAL SUITORS
RAYS
Not only did Martinez pitch well for the Rays in 2026, but he also emerged as a team leader, with manager Kevin Cash even calling him “the rock of our clubhouse.” The Rays tabbed Martinez as their Game 1 starter in the World Series, so it’s obvious how the club views him. While he is clearly a strong fit for Tampa Bay, it remains to be seen whether the Rays will pay enough to keep him, especially after exercising a $20 million option on Drew Rasmussen.
METS
After missing the postseason for a second straight year, the Mets will surely be connected to every good pitcher on the market, including Tarik Skubal, with some labeling New York as the favorite for the two-time Cy Young winner. But president of baseball operations David Stearns has a history of reluctance when it comes to handing out long-term deals to pitchers, so a pitcher such as Martinez could fit Stearns’ philosophy better than most.
CUBS
The Cubs face the loss of most of their rotation, as Shota Imanaga, Clay Holmes, Kevin Gausman, Matthew Boyd and David Peterson are all free agents. While Chicago could be involved in the pursuit of a number of free-agent starters, Martinez may be one of the few quality arms that won’t require a lengthy deal, which could be appealing to the Cubs.
PADRES
Like the Cubs, the Padres will be hunting for rotation help this offseason, as Michael King, Robbie Ray, Casey Mize and Lucas Giolito are among the club’s free agents. Martinez pitched for San Diego in 2022-23 after returning from Japan, so the familiarity on both sides could make a reunion a logical fit.
REDS
Another of Martinez’s former teams could use his arm in its rotation, as the Reds finished 2026 with a 4.97 ERA from their starters, 28th in the Majors. Martinez posted two solid seasons for Cincinnati in 2024-25, the latter of which came after he accepted a qualifying offer. With Brady Singer now a free agent, there is a clear open spot in the rotation that Martinez could capably fill.
WHITE SOX
The White Sox reached the postseason with a marvelous turnaround season, but the deficiencies in the starting rotation were apparent. Chicago ranked 26th in the Majors in rotation ERA (4.60) and last in innings pitched by its starting pitchers (674 2/3), so adding a veteran arm such as Martinez could help the White Sox take the next step.
BUYER BEWARE
We’ve already addressed Martinez’s lack of swing-and-miss stuff and his low strikeout rate, but he’s clearly found a way to succeed in spite of that. One way is to induce ground balls, but Martinez’s ground-ball rate is headed in the wrong direction. After posting ground-ball percentages of 48.1 and 54.0 in 2022-23, that number has dropped to 37.7 in 2024, 39.3 in 2025 and a career-low 36.5 this past season. The Rays’ superb outfield defense was a huge benefit to Martinez in 2026, so any potential suitor would ideally have an equally strong defensive outfield.
EXECUTIVE TAKE
“I personally think he might have the biggest gap in public perception and free-agent value. He deserves a lot of credit -- as do the Rays -- for his 2026 season; a 3.10 ERA over 180 regular-season innings is truly excellent. That being said, I look at the [.267] BABIP and age 36, and don’t see a guy that clubs can really feel comfortable committing long-term money to. Even though he’s essentially been a 2-3 WAR pitcher for the last three seasons -- and he’s done so despite low K rates -- his swing-and-miss is so limited that he feels like the kind of guy to re-up on a one-year deal for 15-20 million. He’s earned that on the performance, but he’s also pitching in an excellent ballpark with an excellent defense behind him.
“His superpower is getting hitters to chase and get caught in between pitches, even as his strikeout percentage ticks down to about 15 percent, but it’s tough to feel confident he’s going to replicate it, even though he has each of the last few years. The pitch mix is legit, and he clearly competes very hard, so I think he would make sense in a one-year context for a contender.”
FOR COMP'S SAKE
Last year, Merrill Kelly agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract with the Diamondbacks entering his age-37 season. Kelly had been 29-18 with a 3.51 ERA over his previous three seasons, throwing 435 1/3 innings over 75 starts. Martinez is 36-27 with a 3.56 ERA since the beginning of 2024, throwing 488 innings over 113 appearances (73 starts) during that stretch, putting the Kelly contract in the range of what he might expect this offseason.