Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez has declined his player option and will hit the free agent market. Fellow shooter Jakob Junis did the same.

Information about Charlie Goldsmith, who followed the team, was available on social media.

Martinez, 34, had a player option for $12 million. He refuses, no doubt, because he is looking for a more lucrative multi-year deal.

While it is currently unknown whether money is Martinez’s sole motivation, it is also possible that Martinez is looking for an opportunity to become a more regular starter. He played in 42 games for Cincinnati last season, but only 16 of them were as a starter. He went 10-7 with a 3.10 ERA and struck out 116 batters in 142.1 innings.

Martinez is a seven-year veteran who played for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Reds. He made his league debut with Rangers in 2014 and remained there until 2017. He then headed to Japan for four seasons before pitching again with the Padres in 2022.

The Reds will still have a chance to bring Martinez back, but it will require a larger financial commitment and perhaps a larger role commitment. Cincinnati has pitchers like Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott as rotation options, but there is room in the rotation and they have dealt with injuries to both Greene and Lodolo over the past few years.

Cincinnati He finished 77-85 last season and fired coach David Bell. They hired future Hall of Famer Terry Francona for the job.

They haven’t qualified for the play-offs since 2020.

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