Reds' Nick Martinez leak gives Nick Krall a convenient escape hatch

A lot of skeletons emerged from the Cincinnati Reds' closet earlier this week. A revealing report from The Athletic divulged the somewhat fractured relationship between the Reds' front office and longtime owner Bob Castellini.

One of the many contentious disagreements described in the article was how the Reds handled the fallout after the failed Kyle Schwarber negotiations. The Reds ultimately pivoted to sign Eugenio Suárez to a one-year, $15 million deal, but apparently Nick Krall had his sights set on another free-agent target.

Krall, according to people briefed on his thinking, wanted to spend that money on free agent pitcher Nick Martinez, who went on to sign a one-year, $12 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Reds ownership group, however, reportedly insisted the team needed to find a slugger after missing out on Schwarber because fans like home runs.

Does anyone else find it a little convenient that Krall claims to have wanted to sign a pitcher who's having an All-Star season instead of the slugger who's endured one of the worst years of his career?

Put on your tinfoil hats, folks, because we're about to dig a little deeper into this supposed conflict between the front office and ownership. This isn't to suggest that Krall and Co. didn't want to re-sign Martinez, but some of the facts surrounding the entire situation seem a little fishy.

Nick Martinez leak feels like a smokescreen to hide yet another Reds failure

First, can we all agree that everyone was excited to see Suárez return to Cincinnati? Obviously the season didn't produce the results we were all expecting, but his strong finish during the final two months of the season helped to redeem his performance a little bit. Since August 1, he's hitting .227/.362/.504 with 11 home runs, 33 RBI, and a 136 wRC+. That's the Geno we know and love.

With that as an aside, let's get back to the disputed rumors surrounding Martinez. In 2025, he appeared in 40 games, including 26 starts, logged over 165 innings, posted a 4.45 ERA, and a 4.33 FIP. This season with the Rays, he's made 30 starts, covered almost 180 innings, and owns a 2.94 ERA and a 3.96 FIP.

The Reds certainly could've used that type of production from their rotation this season. But heading into the offseason, was anyone clamoring for Cincinnati to add an extra starter? If they were, they were certainly in the minority.

If memory serves, nearly every Reds fan was yelling for the team to sign or trade for a "big bat." The Reds ranked 21st in home runs and slugging percentage last season despite playing in one of the most homer-friendly ballparks in all of baseball. It's why every Reds fan was waiting with bated breath when the team was actually part of the negotiations for Schwarber.

Once the Middletown native re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, it was time for the Reds to pivot. And by pivot, we're not talking about turning one's attention to the starting rotation — a unit that ranked 3rd in WHIP (1.17), 7th in strikeouts (832), and 9th in ERA (3.85). We're talking about pivoting to another home run-hitting power bat. Which is what they eventually did.

Are we to believe that Krall really wanted to re-sign Martinez with a starting stable of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Brandon Williamson at his disposal? In fact, if Martinez was re-signed and all eight pitchers were healthy to begin the year, Burns would've started in the minor leagues.

Now, with hindsight being 20/20, re-signing Martinez and forgoing the signing of Suárez looks like a genius move. And that's the point. Given how many injuries the Reds' rotation suffered this season, how well Martinez performed in Tampa, and how poorly Geno's played in Cincinnati, flipping the script would've meant that Krall was smarter than everyone else in the room. Yeah, right!

Don't forget, folks, this leak was meant to shove all the blame onto the shoulders of the Castellini's. And honestly, they deserve all the heat they're getting, and then some. But this supposed dispute over signing Martinez rather than Suárez feels too good to be true when you lay all the cards out on the table.

Unless the Castellinis come out and state this supposed internal debate as fact, fans are left to chose to sides. You're free to take whichever side you'd like, but this one feels like a convenient way for Krall to wriggle out of yet another knot he's entangled himself in.

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