Martinez signed a five-year, $18 million contract extension with the Diamondbacks on Friday, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.
In addition to covering him for 2025, Martinez's new deal will buy out his three arbitration years and includes club options for 2030 and 2031, giving him immediate financial security while the Diamondbacks get their young, hard-throwing reliever locked into a team-friendly deal. Martinez turned in a 2.48 ERA and 1.31 WHIP with 91 strikeouts over 72.2 innings during his first full season in the majors last year, though it's still unknown if he, A.J. Puk or Kevin Ginkel will be the preferred ninth-inning option once the regular season begins.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Touched for two runs
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Martinez allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one over one inning in Thursday's spring game against the Athletics.
Martinez worked the seventh inning following other closer candidates Kevin Ginkel (fifth inning) and A.J. Puk (sixth). Manager Torey Lovullo indicated Wednesday that he's still mulling the decision as to which of the three will be his primary option in the ninth inning when the games begin to count. This was the second time in eight Cactus League appearances that Martinez has allowed runs, upping his spring ERA to 6.43. Although the small samples mean little, that is much higher than the ERAs of Ginkel (1.50) and Puk (1.29).
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Manager doesn't plan to name closer
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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday that he probably won't name a closer at the start of the season and instead will play matchups with Martinez and others, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
A.J. Puk and Kevin Ginkel also figure to be squarely in the mix for saves as Lovullo sorts through his late-inning options. Martinez recorded eight of the team's 11 traditional saves during the final two months of last season, while Puk notched two and Ryan Thompson had the other.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Works clean inning
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Martinez struck out two over one inning in Monday's Cactus League game against the Royals.
Other than one ugly outing, Martinez has had a strong spring. One of the final questions remaining for the team in spring training is who will be the Diamondbacks' primary closer. Martinez has allowed three runs (all in one outing) on three hits and three walks while striking out nine over six Cactus League innings. His primary competition for the job is A.J. Puk (1.50 ERA, six innings), with Kevin Ginkel (1.69 ERA, 5.1 innings) also in consideration.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Squelches fourth-inning jam
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Martinez threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Tuesday's spring game against Kansas City.
Martinez came on in the fourth inning to relieve starter Merrill Kelly, who left with one out and runners at the corners. Martinez needed just two pitches to get out of the jam, inducing a double-play groundout to end the inning. It was the fourth scoreless appearance in five Cactus League outings for Martinez, who is competing with A.J. Puk and Kevin Ginkel for the closer role.
Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Part of bullpen day
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Martinez walked one and struck out one over a scoreless fourth inning in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Cubs.
It was a bullpen day for the Diamondbacks, which gave manager Torey Lovullo a chance to see his three potential closers pitch early enough in the game to see the other team's regulars. Martinez followed Kevin Ginkel (second inning) and A.J. Puk (third inning). Martinez had the toughest task of the three, facing the second, third and four batters in Chicago's order. All three relievers threw scoreless innings, compounding the difficulty of the decision for the manager. Martinez and Puk appear to be the leading candidates, but all three are expected to work high-leverage innings at the back end of the bullpen.
Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Enters in seventh inning
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Martinez allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two over 1.1 innings in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Giants.
The Diamondbacks were up, 5-1, when manager Torey Lovullo had Martinez enter the contest to open the seventh inning. He allowed the first two batters to reach but managed to wriggle out of danger. The right-hander was sent out to start the eighth and was removed after a double and single made it a 5-2 game. It's unclear why Lovullo had his closer enter what would normally be a low-leverage spot. Martinez has pitched at regular intervals over the past week, so it wasn't an issue of rust. Perhaps it was due to Lovullo's desire to end the team's three-game losing skid.
Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Handed blown save, loss
Rotowire
Martinez (5-6) was charged with a blown save and the loss after allowing one run on three hits and no walks over one-third of an inning Sunday against the Brewers.
Arizona held an 8-0 lead after two and a half frames Sunday, but Martinez and the rest of the bullpen were unable to maintain the advantage. The right-hander entered with two outs in the eighth inning and the Diamondbacks leading 9-7, and he proceeded to give up three runs (two inherited runners) on two singles, a double and a wild pitch. A.J. Puk picked up a save Friday in Milwaukee, which combined with Martinez's save Sept. 4 account for Arizona's only saves so far this month. Martinez should be the favorite for saves in the final week of the regular season, but the lefty Puk is also in the mix.
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