MARTINEZ IS BETTING ON HIMSELF AGAIN
Nick Martinez bet on himself when he went to Japan in 2017.
He became a better pitcher and returned to Major League Baseball in 2022, signing a contract with the Padres that was essentially another bet on himself.
That four-year deal allowed him to opt out after every season if he chose, which is what Martinez did earlier this month before re-signing with the Padres. And his new three-year contract also is something of a wager that he will once again prove himself worthy of more.
“It’s a very interesting contract,” Martinez said Tuesday. “Very unique in that it provides a lot of stability for my family. And it reflects a lot of the work that I’ve done and a lot of success that I’ve (had) in some crucial roles. I think it rewards that versatility that I had last year and still leaves room for me to prove myself as a starter. I didn’t have a whole lot of bulk as a starter to be like, ‘Hey, I demand this much’ or ‘I’m a No. 3 starter, let me have it.’ But I think the Padres know and A.J. (Preller, Padres President of Baseball Operations) knows that I can do that. It’s just now is just to kind of go out and prove it.
“I don’t know if other teams would have been able to kind of be as creative as A.J. and his team were in constructing this contract and give me the flexibility, the stability, as well as a little more room there to kind of keep that hunger to keep going, keep that competitor in me going.”
The contract, which was agreed to last week but officially announced Tuesday, is a creative collaboration that virtually guarantees the Padres will give Martinez a legitimate chance to be a starter in 2023 while protecting them either way.
Martinez will make $10 million in ’23, a figure that is in line with mid-rotation starters. Should he perform at that level (or better), the team can exercise an option after the season that would assure Martinez $16 million in both ’24 and ’25.
If the team declined its option, Martinez would then have options after the ’23 and ’24 seasons to either become a free agent or make $8 million a year with the Padres.
The contract also includes performance-based escalators that could raise his salary significantly
based on number of starts, relief appearances and games finished, as well as other markers.
Martinez posted a 4.30 ERA in 10 starts last season but ended up being a godsend for the Padres out of the bullpen. In 37 relief appearances (54 innings), he had a 2.67 ERA and finished with eight saves and eight holds. His .209 batting average allowed in high-leverage situations was 30 points lower than his overall average allowed.
He began the season in the rotation before being moved to the bullpen in May when Blake Snell and Mike Clevinger returned from injury. Martinez made two more starts in June before assuming a permanent role as a reliever, in which he worked every inning from the fourth to the ninth and became the first pitcher in MLB history to make 10 starts and earn at least eight holds and eight saves in a single season.
“That I can go out for a full season and kind of let loose of the reins and show that I can carry that workload and prove to be … a three, four or five (starter) or whatever, prove that I can do that,” Martinez said of the improvements he can make in 2023. “I believe in myself. I know that I can. I’ve just kind of got to show it now.”
He believes his experience in 2022 will help.
“Obviously, pitching in those late-inning situations, there is a different mindset — a little less breathing room and a little bit more nasty has to come out,” he said. “There’s no time to mess around. It’s right after these guys. So there’s definitely things that I can take from my role as a reliever to starting. The most obvious one is finishing games. If I’m able to be efficient enough to get into that seventh,
eighth inning, then I know what gear I have to kind of get into to kind of step on some throats.”
Stammen keeps going Craig Stammen
Reliever has decided to continue his career.
The right-hander, who will turn 39 in March, is currently going through the process of talking to other teams and rehabbing his shoulder. His twoyear contract with the Padres ended after the season. He joined the Padres in 2017 and was the second-longest-tenured Padres player after Wil Myers (2015).
“I just love playing,” Stammen said. “I wasn’t ready. I want to go out a little better than I went out last year. I’m going to try to give it another go.”
Stammen had his ’22 season interrupted by a shoulder injury in July and returned after a PRP injection and two months’ rest. He finished with a 4.43 ERA over 33 appearances (402⁄3 innings). He pitched three innings in the season’s final game in an effort to help save the team’s other pitchers and was not active during the postseason.
In his time with the Padres, his 3941⁄3 innings led all major league relievers.
“I felt great at the end of the season,” Stammen said. “I’ve continued to throw. … I feel too good to not keep playing.”
Musgrove seeks record
The only pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Padres history will further broaden his horizons next week.
Joe Musgrove will depart on Monday in his attempt to set a world record for the fastest pitch on Antarctica as part of his latest endeavor with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). Three inspirational athletes with physical disabilities will join Musgrove next week as they board the 340-foot Ocean Victory exhibition ship headed to Antarctica to begin a journey that will include kayaking and hiking through rough terrain ahead of Musgrove’s record world record pitch.
Landis Sims, a 16-year-old baseball player born without hands or feet, will join Musgrove on a trip that is a continuation of a years-long relationship.
Roderick Sewell, a double above-knee amputee who became the first to finish the Ironman World Championship, and Justin Phongsavanh, will also join Musgrove on the trip. Paralyzed after he was shot in an unprovoked assault, Phongsavanh recently won a bronze medal in the javelin throw in the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
“I’m so inspired by the CAF athletes that will be joining us on this journey and all the athletes that face their challenges without limitations,” Musgrove said in a release. “We look forward to raising awareness of their stories and CAF while appreciating all the natural beauty we are going to encounter.”
Polar expedition guide Neill Drake, a friend of Musgrove’s, organized the trip, which required permits to ensure preservation and conservation requirements are met while the Padres right-hander is attempting to set a world record on the coldest continent on earth.
Extensive safety measures and environmental impacts were taken into consideration for the journey, which can be tracked online at JoinJoeMusgrove.com.
Record shares
MLB announced a record postseason player pool of $107.5 million on Tuesday.
The players’ share of playoff revenue resulted in the Padres receiving 70 shares worth $152,709 apiece. The team will also award 16.47 partial shares and various cash awards to support staff and others in the organization, according to MLB.com.
The record haul for players, which is 50 percent of the gate receipts from the wild-card round and 60 percent of the gate from subsequent playoff rounds, was due to the addition of the best-of-three wild-card series.