Nick Martinez Declines Mutual Option With Rays

Nick Martinez declined his end of a $20MM mutual option with the Rays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Martinez will collect a $4MM buyout and return to free agency.

The outcome was always certain. Mutual options are used as accounting measures and are almost never picked up by both sides. Even if Martinez opted in, it’s possible the low-spending Rays would have declined their side of the option, or otherwise picked it up before trying to trade Martinez. MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker projects the club for a $105.6MM cash payroll in 2027. Martinez would have bumped up that total by $16MM (the difference between the option price and the buyout).

The 36-year-old Martinez may not get a $20MM average annual value on the market, but he should find a decently paying two-year deal with a higher total guarantee. Tampa Bay brought him in on a $13MM salary back in February. Martinez then delivered his best season as a full-time starter in the big leagues.

Over 31 starts and 180 innings, Martinez held opponents to a 3.10 earned run average. Despite a below-average 15.1% strikeout rate, he thrived as the league’s premier control specialist. Martinez only gave up free passes 3.6% of the time, beating out teammate Drew Rasmussen and Braves lefty Chris Sale (both at 4.8%) for the best mark among qualified starters. ERA estimators like FIP (3.96) and SIERA (4.63) weren’t as bullish on Martinez, while FanGraphs gave him 2.9 wins above replacement, valuing his mid-rotation performance.

Martinez was the first of three option decisions for the Rays. The club also holds an option over Yandy Díaz, which vested at $13MM when he crossed 500 plate appearances (Díaz finished with 686 PA). The other decision is a $3.1MM club option on shortstop Taylor Walls