Fewer than 10 percent of all Major League Baseball players who have received a qualifying offer since it was introduced following the 2012 season have ever accepted the offer.
Add one more to the list.
According to Francys Romero on Twitter/X, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Nick Martinez is set to become only the 14th player ever to accept the qualifying offer — a one-year, $21.05 million contract for 2025.
Nick Martinez is accepting the Reds’ qualifying offer of $21.05M, per sources.
The final deadline to accept QO is Monday, November 19 (4 PM ET).
Martinez has a 3.31 ERA since returning from Japan in 2022 and was the NL Pitcher of the Month in September. — Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) November 17, 2024
Martinez ended his only season in Cincinnati strong, winning National League pitcher of the month honors in September. He went 10-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 42 games (16 starts) overall.
The deadline for players to accept or reject the qualifying offer is 4 p.m. ET on Monday.
ANAHEIM, CA – SEPTEMBER 15: Manager Jeff Banister #28 of the Texas Rangers removes starting pitcher Nick Martinez #22 of the Texas Rangers during the game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel… ANAHEIM, CA – SEPTEMBER 15: Manager Jeff Banister #28 of the Texas Rangers removes starting pitcher Nick Martinez #22 of the Texas Rangers during the game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 15, 2017 in Anaheim, California. Martinez will reportedly accept a qualifying offer. More Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images
The other 12 players to receive qualifying offers this month were New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes, Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried, Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández, Boston Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, and Mets left-hander Sean Manaea.
Among them, only Pivetta was widely expected to have a real choice on his hands. The other players were expected to follow the overwhelming precedent by rejecting the qualifying offer and pursuing a more lucrative deal with one of the other 29 MLB teams.
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Martinez, 34, is 20-15 with a 3.31 ERA in 152 games (35 starts) for the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds from 2022-24. The Miami native had spent the previous four seasons in Japan on the heels of four major league seasons (2014-17) with the Texas Rangers, who drafted Martinez out of Fordham University in 2011.
In 240 career major league games (103 starts), Martinez is 37-45 with a 4.09 ERA.
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Players might be more inclined to accept the qualifying offer this winter for a simple reason.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reporting from the GM Meetings in San Antonio earlier this month, wrote that