Reds fans freaking out about Nick Martinez 2025 salary have fully lost the plot

Nick Martinez will make over $21 million in 2025, and that's quite the chunk of change for a team like the Cincinnati Reds who are known to constantly be pinching pennies. The Reds have operated as a low-budget team the past several seasons, leading a number of fans to complain about Martinez now taking up what could be a quarter of the Reds' 2025 payroll.

But while Martinez's salary heading into next is exorbitant, that's not the whole story. In theory, a pitcher of Martinez's caliber and track record should probably be taking home somewhere in the neighborhood of about $15 million per season. But Reds fans needn't be overly concerned about Martinez's 2025 salary.

Reds fans freaking out about Nick Martinez's salary are missing the point

First and foremost, let's not forget that Cincinnati shelled out $16 million guaranteed for Frankie Montas to join the Reds' rotation in 2024 after having pitched in just one game during the previous year. The Reds eventually flipped Montas to the Milwaukee Brewers at last year's trade deadline and the right-hander finished well short of his bold prediction. Montas famously declared he'd win 20 games in 2024, but once all the games were played, Montas was 7-11 with a 4.84 ERA and 1.367 WHIP.

The point is, despite paying Montas $14 million —plus a $2 million buyout — the Reds were stuck with a backend starter on a somewhat expensive deal. It happens. The same thing happened to the Arizona Diamondbacks who forked over $25 million to Jordan Montgomery last winter only to see him put up worse numbers than Montas. Spending money in free agency is a risky business and doesn't always guarantee that you'll get what you paid for. (See Jeimer Candelario).

Furthermore, if the Reds were ever going to overpay a pitcher, this is the year to do it. So many key players on Cincinnati's roster are pre-arbitration eligible. Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Andrew Abbott, Rhett Lowder, and others are all making the league minimum. Outside of those who'll earn a pay raise through arbitration, only Candelario, Emilio Pagán, Hunter Greene, Brent Suter are making above the league minimum next year.

Securing Martinez's services for just one more season is also smart business sense. The Reds didn't just bow to the pressure and hand over a three-year deal. Instead, knowing that they have so many talented, young hurlers waiting in the wings, the Reds made sure they'd have a veteran in the rotation for at least one more season and if he bombs, they're not stuck overpaying for multiple seasons.

So while a large number of Reds fans would have preferred to see that $21 million utilized to bolster the outfield or third base, Cincinnati only has an estimated $92 million in payroll commitments for next season. There's no reason why the Reds still can't go out and add more players through free agency or trades this offseason.

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