Nick Martinez establishes value into offseason, but will Cincinnati Reds pay it?

CHICAGO – If this was Nick Martinez's last game in a Cincinnati Reds uniform, he saved his best for last.

If not, well, good luck with the Reds' efforts bringing him back for a second run with the club after he opts into what figures to be a lucrative free agent market for him.

“That would be big for our team next year,” interim manager Freddie Benavides said. “I mean, this is a guy that can do a little bit of everything. But he’s been outstanding in his last couple months starting.

“He’s proven that he’s a legitimate starter in this league. He’s got that opt-out. Hope he doesn’t take it, for our sake.”

No chance of that.

Especially after closing out what might be a Pitcher of the Month September with his first complete game since he pitched in Japan.

Reds manager candidates Wittenmyer & Williams: Francona? Schumaker? Ross? Who'll be next Cincinnati Reds manager?

Reds manager search How $4.9 million owed David Bell might impact Cincinnati Reds approach to manager search

On a day the wind was howling in at Wrigley Field, Martinez used the elements to his advantage and pounded the strike zone all afternoon Friday in a 1-0 loss, allowing just five hits without a walk in a 95-pitch effort.

He closed the season with a 2.41 ERA (5-2 record) in 11 starts since rejoining the rotation last month – including 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA in five September starts, averaging 6 2/3 innings during the month.

Talk about a finishing touch.

"A CG win would have been better," he said after the gem in the Reds' fourth 1-0 loss of the year.

Now what?

"Definitely decisions to be made," said Martinez, whose first one is the easiest: opting out of the $12 million back half of the two-year contract he signed last winter.

In 42 games that included 16 starts, he finished 10-7 with a 3.10 ERA. That included a 1.86 ERA in 53 1/3 innings as a reliever, including three games finished, making him the linchpin of a pitching staff that was the strength of the team most of the season.

That versatility and late-season starting prowess should put Martinez, 34, in line for a multi-year deal this winter with the bidding probably starting in the neighborhood of three years, $50 million.

Whether Martinez is back depends in large part whether the Reds have an appetite for the sticker price on the right-hander who was arguably their most valuable pitcher this year.

“We’ll just have to figure out what that process looks like in the offseason,” team president Nick Krall said. “Once we get to the end of the season, we go through a budgeting process, and we figure out what (we’ll target).

“He obviously has the first domino in that, and we’re going to have to make a decision after (he does) that.”

If the Reds stay in touch after the opt out and are serious about trying to bring Martinez back, the rest of the sales pitch already has been made to Martinez, who talked after his final start of the season about the Reds' "amazing clubhouse" and how much he enjoyed working with his pitching coaches and catchers.

“It’s important,” he said. “You definitely want to avoid toxic clubhouses, right? Having a good clubhouse is key to having a winning team and having a deep run into the playoffs. That’s definitely important.”

Of course, having productive players is at least as important to winning. Even if they might cost $50 million.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Nick Martinez establishes value into offseason, but will Cincinnati Reds pay it?