We have used this idea for the last couple of years. The idea is to go through some of the top free agents, use the contract FanGraphs suggests they will get and have a poll asking if we would like to sign him for that amount.
Nick Martinez is #22 on Ben Clemens’ list at FanGraphs and #17 on Keith Law’s list at the Athletic.
Martinez is a 34-year-old right-hander who has played seven seasons in the MLB and four seasons in Japan. After two ok seasons with the Padres, working as a swingman. He signed with the Red before last season and had an excellent season with them:
| Age | Team | WAR | W | L | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | WP | ERA+ | FIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | CIN | 4.0 | 10 | 7 | 3.10 | 42 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 142.1 | 128 | 56 | 49 | 13 | 18 | 0 | 116 | 5 | 4 | 142 | 3.21 |
The 4.0 bWAR was his career-best by far.
The interesting part for the Blue Jays, he was much better as a reliever (1.86 ERA, batters hit .203/.226/.335) than a starter (3.84, .257/.291/.401). And, as a reliever, he threw 53.1 innings in 26 relief appearances.
We could use a multi-inning reliever (the question is, would we use him as a multi-inning reliever).
Keith Law said:
Martinez was dynamite in relief for the Reds, and more around league-average when he worked as a starter, with a 3.84 ERA in the latter role across 16 starts and 89 innings, still with a 3.3 percent walk rate. He showed a huge split between the first time he faced a batter (.188/.222/.319 in 2024) and the second (.291/.324/.488) when working as a starter. Before this season, he’d been less dominant the first time through the order, making this split more pronounced with his improvement in that area this year.
Clemens likes him more as a starter:
I’d be really interested in Martinez if I were a contender. He’s not far below the cluster of mid-rotation starters (Manaea to Eovaldi) who all figure to get bigger paydays. We already know he’s good in relief, just in case he doesn’t work out as a starter. And on a two-year window, I’m less worried about the bottom falling out. When these kitchen-sink starters run out of steam, it can get ugly quickly, but on a deal this short, that’s an acceptable risk to take.
Clemens figures he’ll get a two-year deal at $16 per.