CINCINNATI — Nick Martinez, a right-handed pitcher, has decided to accept a qualifying offer worth $21.05 million from the Cincinnati Reds, confirming his intention to remain with the team instead of entering the free-agent market.
At 34 years old, Martinez was one of 13 free agents to receive qualifying offers from their former teams on November 4. Players had until 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday to make their decisions.
Martinez’s agent, Scott Boras, announced on Monday that the pitcher had communicated his acceptance to the players’ union, which will relay all decisions to Major League Baseball.
Since the implementation of qualifying offers after the 2012 season, only 13 out of 131 players have accepted these offers prior to this offseason. The qualifying offer amount is determined based on the average salary of the 125 highest-paid players from the previous season.
It’s worth noting that a player can only receive a qualifying offer once throughout their career. Therefore, Martinez would be free to enter the market next offseason without any attached compensation.
In December, Martinez signed a one-year deal worth $14 million, which included a $12 million player option that he ultimately decided against. He had a solid performance last season, achieving a record of 10-7 with a 3.10 ERA over 16 starts and 26 relief outings, accumulating 116 strikeouts against 18 walks in 142 1/3 innings pitched.
Over seven seasons in the major leagues with teams such as Texas (2014-2017), San Diego (2022-2023), and Cincinnati, Martinez holds a career record of 37-45 and a 4.09 ERA. He also spent four seasons pitching in Japan from 2018 to 2021.
Other players who received qualifying offers include New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto, Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, and outfielder Anthony Santander, Boston’s Nick Pivetta, Houston’s Alex Bregman, Arizona’s Christian Walker, Atlanta’s Max Fried, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, Milwaukee’s Willy Adames, New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, Sean Manaea, and Luis Severino.
If a free agent declines a qualifying offer and signs with a new team, the acquiring team sacrifices at least one amateur draft selection, along with a portion of their signing bonus pool for the upcoming international signing period.
Conversely, if a team loses a qualified free agent, they are compensated with an additional draft pick.