Red Reporter · Mar 31, 2024
Game 3: Reds vs. Nationals (1:40 PM ET) - Martinez vs. Irvin
Photo by Chris Coduto/MLB Photos via Getty ImagesWhen the Cincinnati Reds signed former San Diego Padres righthander Nick Martinez this winter, I’m not sure they even knew exactly how they’d deploy him. After spending the better part of four years pitching in Japan, Martinez returned to Major League Baseball with the Friars and immediately jumped into the kind of hybrid, swingman role that’s rarely used with any success around the game these days.
Martinez, though, found that success, pitching to an overall 114 ERA+ in San Diego, tossing 216.2 IP across 110 G in 2022-2023, with 19 of those appearances coming as a starter.