Nick Martinez accepted the Reds’ $21.05MM qualifying provide this week, making him the lone participant of the 13 who obtained a QO to simply accept that one-year deal. The 2 events talked a couple of potential multi-year deal earlier than the 34-year-old righty accepted, and whereas talks on a multi-year deal are reportedly on maintain for now, Martinez steered that he’s nonetheless open to such an association and has obtained no indication from the membership that talks gained’t decide up down the road (hyperlinks by way of Mark Sheldon of MLB.com and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic).
“Accepting the qualifying provide doesn’t restrict us from speaking, so I’m undoubtedly nonetheless open to it if that helps mitigate prices for this 12 months or signal extra guys,” Martinez stated yesterday (by way of Rosecrans). Through Sheldon (on BlueSky), he added: “To my understanding, [discussing a multi-year deal] remains to be on the desk.”
Martinez’s $21.05MM wage places the Reds proper again at their 2024 payroll degree, per RosterResource’s projections. Reds COO Doug Healy stated final week that the 2025 payroll could be “at or above” final 12 months’s roughly $100MM degree. A $21MM wage for Martinez doesn’t go away tons of wiggle room, and the Reds haven’t divulged simply how far “above” that $100MM degree they’d be comfy spending. Figuring out a two- or three-year take care of Martinez which may cut back his 2025 wage would give the Reds extra flexibility and in addition permit them to additional prolong their management over a participant who president of baseball ops Nick Krall known as a “nice group man” and a “lead-by-example man.”
Previous to the Reds’ shock determination to tender a QO to Martinez, MLBTR had penciled Martinez in for a three-year, $39MM contract on our annual High 50 Free Agent rankings. The Athletic’s Tim Britton provided a really comparable three-year, $40MM prediction. A deal in that vary may permit the Reds to trim a number of million off Martinez’s 2025 wage — maybe much more, if the group is keen to backload the deal so Martinez’s salaries are higher in 2026-27, when different contracts can be coming off the books. Emilio Pagán is incomes $8MM in 2025 however is a free agent at season’s finish. Jeimer Candelario is signed for 2 extra years and incomes extra in ’25 ($15MM) than in ’26 ($12MM).
Among the many Reds’ different objectives in free company are including a bat to the lineup, deepening the bullpen and, per Sheldon, bettering the group’s general protection. Touchdown a nook outfield bat has lengthy appeared like a viable goal for the Reds, with Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill, Jurickson Profar, Michael Conforto and Max Kepler are among the many non-Soto tier of free agent prospects. Once more, bringing Martinez again at a weighty worth level complicates the pursuit of such hitters, however all ought to signal contracts which can be inside affordable proximity to the Reds’ prior free agent thresholds. Cincinnati has prior to now signed each Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas to four-year, $64MM free agent offers, as an example. Santander will very possible command a bigger assure than that, however the others ought to are available at or beneath (nicely beneath, for Conforto and Kepler) that kind of complete dedication and/or annual worth.
One different space of focus for the Reds this winter can be making incremental enhancements to Elly De La Cruz’s already spectacular recreation, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. One of many recreation’s most dynamic abilities and nonetheless simply 22 years previous, the 6’5″ De La Cruz wowed with 25 homers, 67 steals and a .259/.339/.471 batting line whereas taking part in 160 video games and spending each inning he was within the lineup at shortstop. Krall particularly voiced a want to work with De La Cruz on whittling away at his 31.3% strikeout charge — a mark that’s already down a bit from his 33.7% charge as a 21-year-old in 2023.
Curiously, Krall famous that “a variety of our guys” are in that very same boat, maybe foreshadowing one of many traits he’ll search for as he appears to bolster his lineup this winter. With regard to De La Cruz, nonetheless, each Krall and GM Brad Meador emphasised to Wittenmyer that even with a crowded infield combine and prospect Edwin Arroyo on the rise, De La Cruz is the group’s shortstop for the foreseeable future. Krall and Meador spoke of working with De La Cruz to tighten up his protection on routine performs and reduce outs made on the basepaths, although the group is unquestionably thrilled with the general high quality of their budding star shortstop’s efficiency. De La Cruz is beneath membership management for at the least 5 extra seasons and sure gained’t be eligible for arbitration till the 2026-27 offseason.
