Reds' RHP Nick Martinez opts for free agency

Right-hander Nick Martinez, Cincinnati's strongest starting pitcher over the final two months of the 2024 season, declined his player option with the Reds and will become a free agent.

Also electing to test the free-agent market are pitcher Jakob Junis, infielder Ty France and outfielder Nick Martini, while the Reds re-signed left-handed reliever Brent Suter, a hometown product, to a one-year contract, which includes a team option for 2026. Suter will earn $2.25 million next season.

Martinez, whom the Reds signed in November 2023 to a two-year deal worth a combined $26 million and the player option for 2025, spent most of the past season in the bullpen before injuries ravaged the rotation.

After becoming a starter exclusively on Aug. 5, Martinez went 5-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 11 starts. For the season, he was 10-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 42 appearances, including 16 starts.

Junis, acquired during the season from the Milwaukee Brewers, had no decisions with the Reds and a 2.85 ERA in 14 games, five of them starts. In 24 total games last season, he was 4-0 with a 2.69 ERA and one save.

France, also picked up during the season after the Seattle Mariners placed him on waivers, hit .251 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in 52 games. Including his time with Mariners, France hit .234 with 13 homers and 51 RBIs in 140 games.

France and Martini opted for free agency after being among a handful of players whom the Reds outrighted to Triple-A Louisville.

Suter, who went to Moeller High School in Cincinnati, signed a one-year contract with the Reds in January. In his nine-year career, Suter is 41-22 with a 3.45 ERA in 300 games, including 44 starts. In 47 appearances with the Reds, all but three as a reliever, he went 1-0 with a 3.15 ERA.

--Field Level Media