From minor league backup to clutch September hitter, a lot has changed for Nick Martini

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Last year in Triple-A, when the Louisville Bats called up all of their top prospects, 33-year-old journeyman outfielder Nick Martini played a critical role behind the scenes.

When Bats manager Pat Kelly was looking for those prospects to tell them that they were heading to the show, Kelly reached out to Martini first. Martini was the player who told those prospects that the manager wanted to see them. Martini was viewed as a “big brother” in the clubhouse, and he helped Kelly plan the stories for how a few players were going to learn they were getting called up.

Martini never thought that he’d be the one getting that news in 2023.

“One day, (Kelly) called me on an off day,” Martini said. “He asked, ‘Are you with anyone?’”

On August 21, Martini thought that Kelly was asking him to help track down one other player.

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Call-up was a long time coming for Martini

“Then he told me I was coming up,” Martini said. “Aw, man. It was crazy. I thought he was looking for someone else again. Me being the one who got called up didn’t even cross my mind.”

Imagine if you told Martini how the next seven months were going to go.

Martini, who played in Korea in 2022 and had played in 112 career big league games before the Reds called him up last season, provided some of the most clutch hits of the Reds’ 2023 season. When their season was on the brink in early September, Martini hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth on Sept. 1. Four days later, he hit a game-tying three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.He hit so well that he earned some starts over established Reds regulars down the stretch. In 79 big league plate appearances last year, Martini hit .264 with a .912 OPS.

“He’s a gamer,” Reds second baseman Matt McLain said. “He loves the game, and he just went out and did what he does. He’s a good hitter who gets on base. That’s what he was all year last year, and that’s who he’s going to be this year.”

This spring, Martini is a strong candidate for the 26th spot on the Reds roster. On Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants, he hit his second homer of the spring with a towering shot to right field.

Martini among four players fighting for final roster spot

With Noelvi Marte now suspended for the first 80 games of the season, there’s a wide open competition for that final roster spot. Utility players Josh Harrison and Tony Kemp are contenders, and so is veteran first baseman Mike Ford. What Martini showed the Reds last September makes him more of a known commodity heading into the last two weeks of the spring.

At this point last year, Martini was just looking for a chance to play professional baseball anywhere.

“It’s been special,” Martini said. “I know that no matter what, I can compete at a high level. To get what I got through last year, I know that I can continue to build on that. It was very meaningful. I was in the minor leagues for a long time. I know what it’s like to be doing well and never get called up. My mindset is to continue to build. Whatever happens happens.”

After playing in Korea in 2022, Martini said that he didn’t have any offers to play overseas for the 2023 season. A few MLB organizations called to check in on him during that offseason, but there wasn’t much interest.

A week before the start of spring training, Martini signed a minor league deal with the Reds. He didn’t get an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster. He didn’t even get an invite to big league spring training.

Martini was the oldest player in minor league spring camp, practicing with prospects in their mid-20s who were hoping to make it up to Triple-A for the start of the season.

“It was a bet on myself,” Martini said. “I went to minor league camp and had no idea what the year had in store. But I stuck with it mentally. That was the big thing for me.”

Martini started the year in Louisville as a backup outfielder. Stuart Fairchild, Mike Siani, TJ Hopkins and Henry Ramos all got at-bats ahead of him. The Reds told Martini, “We’ll get you in when we can get you in.”

As some big leaguers got injured and players from Triple-A got called up, more at-bats opened up for Martini in Triple-A. In 417 plate appearances, he hit .275 with a .875 OPS, 20 doubles and 15 homers. Off the field, he was a mentor to the Reds’ young prospects and a leader in the clubhouse.

When those prospects got called up to the big leagues, they noticed how genuinely excited Martini was for them. Despite the impact that Martini was making, a big league call-up still didn’t feel like it was on the horizon for him.

“I’m sure there are times where you want to quit,”  Reds manager David Bell said last year. “You just don’t know when it’s not worth it.”

Martini's opportunity came in late August

Then in late August, six Reds position players were on the injured list. With their depth being tested more than it had been all year, the Reds gave Martini a shot to provide a spark in a lineup that was slumping.

“I’d imagine it’s one of the toughest things to do, when you’re so close to the big leagues being in Triple-A but it has to feel so far away at times,” Bell said. “Especially when you have success. You put up numbers. He knows he can play. It’s a matter of getting someone to believe in you.”

After he got called up last year, Martini had the best stretch of his career at the plate. In Martini’s first 112 big league games, he totaled two home runs. In 29 games with the Reds last year, he hit six homers.

“Everyone talked about Nick being a good guy who could really hit,” Bell said. “You never know when you get an opportunity, it could last for a few years now. Several guys have broken in later on in their early 30s and had some good years in the big leagues.”

If he makes the team in 2024, Martini could fill a similar role on the Reds as a bench bat, a backup first baseman and an option at designated hitter. Because of Spencer Steer, Jonathan India and Jeimer Candelario’s ability to play multiple positions, they have the flexibility to keep Martini on the roster as an option as a designated hitter and a pinch-hitter.

Martini’s success with the Reds last year could factor into the team's decision making. The Reds have seen that in the biggest moments of the year, Martini can provide the big hit.

“It’s all been about being confident in myself and knowing that if I got a chance, I’d take advantage of it,” Martini said. “Thankfully I got that opportunity. Considering I didn’t think I’d be in this situation, yeah. I’m definitely grateful for it. I’m excited to play every chance I get.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Former minor league backup Nick Martini has built on turnaround year