Nick Martini

Nicholas Scott Martini

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 205 lb.
• School Kansas State University
• High School Prairie Ridge High School
• Debut June 6, 2018

• Born June 27, 1990 in Crystal Lake, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Nick Martini was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 7th round of the 2011 amateur draft, out of Kansas State University. However he never played for the Cardinals in the majors, as by the time he made it to the Show in the middle of the 2018 season, he was a member of the Oakland Athletics, having been signed as a minor league free agent prior to that season. In the three seasons before that, he had split his time between AA and AAA each year

He was completely unheralded when he first played in the majors and was already 28, but he was one of his team's best players over the second half of the 2018 season, hitting .296 with an OBP of .397 in 55 games; his OPS+ was 127. He played in the Wild Card Game that season, going 1 for 4 in a 7-2 loss to the New York Yankees on October 3rd. However, he was not really able to build on this fine first season, as he appeared in just 6 games for the Athletics in 2019, going 1 for 11 and on August 28th he was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres. He was given a longer look by his new team, as he appeared in 26 games over the last five weeks of the season, hitting .244. He had done a lot better in the minors, hitting .329 in 70 games for the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League. After the season, he was claimed off waivers two more times, ending up with the Philadelphia Phillies for 2020. However, that was the season of COVID-19 and he never got to the majors that year.

Before the 2021 season, he signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs and again split his season between AAA and the majors. He played 25 games in the National League during which he hit .270 but with only 1 extra-base hit - a double - in 37 at-bats. With the Iowa Cubs, he hit .267 in 78 games, but with 11 homers and 40 RBIs. He then moved to the Korea Baseball Organization in 2022, playing a full season of 139 games with the NC Dinos. He hit .296 with 34 doubles and 16 homers, scoring 67 runs and driving in 85 to raise renewed interest among major league teams. The Cincinnati Reds were next to sign him, just before the 2023 season and he appeared in 29 games for them, hitting .264 with an OPS+ of 137, largely thanks to 6 homers in just 72 at-bats (as a point of comparison, he had hit a grand total of three long balls in the majors before that). He spent the bulk of that year in AAA with the Louisville Bats, where he hit .275 with 15 homers and 75 RBIs in 93 games. In 2024, he hit .305 with 7 homers and 17 RBIs in 23 games for Louisville, and .212 in 52 games for Cincinnati in what was his busiest season at the major league level since his rookie year. He started off with a bang, blasting two homers against the Washington Nationals in an 8-2 win on Opening Day, March 28th, but could not keep it up. By the end of April, he had not homered again and was batting below .200, and he played his last major league game in early July. His OPS+ was just 73, and he was not a particularly good fit on a Reds team full of youngsters looking for playing time. He had to undergo surgery on a thumb in July and as a result was out of action until mid-September, only playing in AAA after his return.

On January 17, 2025, he moved to yet another team, signing as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies. This was seen as a depth signing with his expected destination being in AAA, but he surprised just about everyone by making the team out of spring training as a non-roster invitee, after hitting .368 and slugging over .500. Not only that, but he was expected to be in the starting line-up on Opening Day.

Further Reading

• Thomas Harding: "'I don't take opportunities for granted': Martini reflects on making roster", mlb.com, March 24, 2025. [1]

Related Sites

• Nick Martini on mlb.com