MLB Free Agents Who Could Become Superstars on New Teams in 2025

Age: 34

2024 Stats: 42 G, 16 GS, 142.1 IP, 128 H (13 HR), 116 K, 18 BB, 3.10 ERA

The Current State of His Career

Whether Nick Martinez becomes a free agent depends on what Nick Martinez himself wants to do. As much as he likes Cincinnati, he stands to make less money ($12 million) in 2025 than he did this year ($14 million) if he exercises his option for next season.

The guess here is that he’ll opt out, in which case he would reenter the market off a strong, but not quite eye-popping season.

That has been Martinez’s lane for three years since he returned from a four-year stint in Japan. He has a 3.31 ERA to show for 152 appearances, all but 35 of which have come in relief.

How Changing Scenery Could Help

Like with Teoscar Hernández and Michael Conforto, one’s eyes are liable to go wide when gazing upon Martinez’s home/road splits as a Red:

• Home: 4.00 ERA, .769 OPS
• Road: 2.18 ERA, .503 OPS

You can get a sense of the sheer hitter-friendliness of Great American Ball Park, which is especially noteworthy in one way: It is the best park in MLB for home run hitters.

That’s not good for any pitcher, but least of all guys who don’t miss bats. Martinez fits that profile, though he has been elite at stifling exit velocity in each of the last two seasons. This year also saw him walk a career-low 3.2 percent of the batters he faced.

He looks like the next coming of Seth Lugo from a certain angle, but I could just be saying that because Martinez would also fit the Kansas City Royals perfectly.