ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays can tell you plenty of stories to show what kind of a teammate Nick Martinez has been inside their clubhouse.
The team dinners. The postgame celebrations. The inside jokes and moments of been-there, done-that leadership.
If you wanted to see it for yourself, you could have just looked down to the Rays’ bullpen along the right-field line as their season was coming to an end in a 4-1 loss to the Brewers in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.
The Rays entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing by four runs. But as soon as Liam Hicks doubled and scored on another double by Chandler Simpson, bringing the tying run into the on-deck circle, the veteran Martinez sprang to his feet and started warming up.
Nevermind the fact that the Rays were one out from the offseason. Nevermind that he had just thrown 33 pitches over two innings out of the bullpen in Tampa Bay’s Game 4 extra-innings victory on Tuesday night. And nevermind that the 36-year-old right-hander hadn’t pitched on consecutive days since he was in the Reds bullpen last September.
He was there to help.
“We spoke to it all season long: He's been the rock of our clubhouse,” manager Kevin Cash said. “When you get the name [El] Presidente, that's for good reason. Orchestrating all the dinners, the conversations, the card games, the way he carried himself.
“We were a better team when Nick was on the mound, because of how much support that he had from his teammates.”
When Richie Palacios hit a ground ball that resulted in the final out, Martinez walked back to the dugout and into the home clubhouse at Tropicana Field. Could it have been the last time?
The contract Martinez signed with the Rays back in February was for $13 million guaranteed: $9 million for this season and a $4 million buyout on a $20 million mutual option for 2027. Mutual options are rarely exercised, either because players who outperform expectations can typically pursue a better deal or because clubs will decline to pay that figure for an underperforming player.
Martinez certainly outperformed every reasonable expectation anyone could have set for him this season. Leaning on his three fastballs and a lethal changeup, Martinez went 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA in 180 innings over 31 regular-season starts.
He was one of Tampa Bay’s best pitchers in the postseason, too, allowing only five runs in 16 innings over four appearances (three starts). All told, the Rays won 25 of the 35 games in which he pitched.
Plus, he made it abundantly clear to anyone paying attention that he is a game-changing presence inside their clubhouse. That group made it especially difficult for Martinez to accept the end of their season late Wednesday night.
“That's what you always remember. Like I said many times, man, you're remembered for what kind of teammate you are and what kind of competitor you are, and this room has over 26 guys of characters like that,” Martinez said. “It was a really fun year. Very promising future here.”
Martinez admitted it was too soon to face his own future and whether it will intersect with that of the Rays. They have many other decisions to make when the offseason begins in earnest, including how to handle ace Drew Rasmussen’s $20 million club option, and he was still saying his goodbyes as he spoke to waves of reporters in front of his locker in the corner of Tampa Bay’s clubhouse.
But it was a perfect fit this year, right down to the very end.
“I'm still just enjoying my time with these guys. Yeah, I love it here,” Martinez said. “It's been great. Love the guys. Love the organization. So we'll see what happens.”