Diamondbacks, Justin Martínez Agree To Extension

Right-hander Justin Martínez and the Diamondbacks have agreed to a contract extension. It’s reportedly a five-year, $18MM guarantee plus two club options. The deal buys out his remaining pre-arbitration and arbitration seasons and then it’s a $7MM club option for 2030 and a $9MM club option in 2031. Martínez was previously under club control through 2029. Moises Fabian of Mega 97.9 in New York first reported the details in Spanish. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic later reported the same details in English.

Martínez, 23, has a limited major league track record but has impressed in that time. He had a rough debut in 2023, allowing 14 earned run in a small sample of ten innings. But he firmly established himself last year. He tossed 72 2/3 innings over 64 appearances for the D’Backs, allowing just 2.48 earned runs per nine innings. His 11.7% walk rate was definitely on the high side but he struck out 29.5% of batters faced and got grounders on 58.9% of balls in play.

He accomplished all that with an impressive arsenal, turning his Statcast page into a sea of red. His four-seam fastball and sinker both averaged over 100 miles per hour with Martínez also mixing in a splitter and a slider. He earned seven holds and eight saves last year, cementing himself as a key leverage arm for the Snakes.

More to come.