Washington Nationals: 3 back end pitchers for the rotation

Carlos Martinez

Carlos Martinez has pitched for one organization and one organization only. For the St. Louis Cardinals, Martinez has been a starter then a closer. He also sat out the final three-plus months of the 2021 season after having surgery on a ligament tear in his right thumb.

Prior to the injury, Martinez was terrible for the Red Birds. He had games where he gave up 10 earned runs and 8 earned runs, respectively (so did Joe Ross, and Patrick Corbin came very close). Martinez struggled to locate pitches, walking too many hitters, too many times out. In his final two outings prior to landing on the injured list, Martinez gave up one run in back to back starts.

There is potential with Martinez and he can be had at a respectable rate, coming off an injury. The Nationals are not in the market to sign pitchers to multi-year contracts, or to break the bank. Martinez can sign a one-year contract in hopes of showing teams he can still pitch, setting him up for a better contract the following season. He is an ultimate low risk-high reward, signing.

One thing Mike Rizzo has proven during his time with the Nationals, is he is willing to bring in arms and have them compete for jobs in the spring. This offseason will be no different.