8 offseason targets for Chaim Bloom to shore up the Cardinals rotation

Nick Martinez

Ever since Nick Martinez broke into Major League Baseball, he's been one of the best examples of a swingman in today's game, a breed of player that is quite uncommon today.

Don't get me wrong, players fill that role from time to time, but typically not for eight straight big league seasons like Martinez. He has shown the ability to move between starting and relieving at a high level, especially since he returned from pitching in Japan back in 2022.

Since that overseas stint, Martinez has made 61 starts and 131 relief appearances, covering 524.2 innings of work with a 3.67 ERA and 9.2 bWAR. For the last two years of Martinez's career, he's been pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, and this year he made 26 starts and 14 relief appearances to the tune of a 4.45 ERA over 165.2 innings of work, the largest workload of his career.

Martinez would make a ton of sense for St. Louis if he is open to coming to the Cardinals and his market doesn't get too big. If the Cardinals were to sign Martinez, he would likely be a starter for them to begin the year, but if a prospect like Mathews, Liam Doyle, Tink Hence, or someone else is ready to start making starts with St. Louis, Martinez can slide back into the bullpen like he has before. He would be depth and insurance for the club in case of injuries or underperformance, and would be a nice and stable veteran presence.

Should Martinez have a solid year, there would be plenty of interest in an arm like that at the trade deadline, giving the Cardinals even more opportunity to cash in on his value. Having just turned 35 years old, regression is likely coming again, but I still think he would be a dependable option that the Cardinals would covet. I also don't imagine that he would cost too much to retain, ranging anywhere from $5 million and up to a little north of $10 million. I would not be surprised at all if a true contender or the Cincinnati Reds picked him up instead