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The Arizona Diamondbacks are on the verge of locking up power-armed reliever Justin Martinez on a five-year, $18 million extension, a source confirmed Friday.
The deal, which is pending a physical, covers all of Martinez’s arbitration-eligible years and includes club options for what would be his first two years of free agency. Those are valued at $7 million in 2030 and $9 million in 2031, a source said.
Martinez, 23, is coming off a dominant first full season in the majors in 2024, in which he logged a 2.48 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 36 walks in 72⅔ innings.
He possesses some of the best pure stuff of any pitcher in baseball, with a fastball that averages 100.3 mph. He threw two pitches last season that reached 103 mph and a half-dozen more of at least 102.5 mph.
Martinez also has a pair of dominant secondary offerings in his splitter and slider, which elicited whiff rates last season of 54 percent and 45.1 percent, respectively.
Martinez has already had one elbow procedure, having undergone Tommy John surgery in 2021.
He is in the mix to possibly be the Diamondbacks’ closer this season. Lefty A.J. Puk is also believed to be in consideration.
News of the extension was first reported by Moises Fabian.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Source: Diamondbacks, Justin Martinez nearing contract extension
Continue reading...
The deal, which is pending a physical, covers all of Martinez’s arbitration-eligible years and includes club options for what would be his first two years of free agency. Those are valued at $7 million in 2030 and $9 million in 2031, a source said.
Martinez, 23, is coming off a dominant first full season in the majors in 2024, in which he logged a 2.48 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 36 walks in 72⅔ innings.
He possesses some of the best pure stuff of any pitcher in baseball, with a fastball that averages 100.3 mph. He threw two pitches last season that reached 103 mph and a half-dozen more of at least 102.5 mph.
Martinez also has a pair of dominant secondary offerings in his splitter and slider, which elicited whiff rates last season of 54 percent and 45.1 percent, respectively.
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Martinez has already had one elbow procedure, having undergone Tommy John surgery in 2021.
He is in the mix to possibly be the Diamondbacks’ closer this season. Lefty A.J. Puk is also believed to be in consideration.
News of the extension was first reported by Moises Fabian.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Source: Diamondbacks, Justin Martinez nearing contract extension
Continue reading...
