Who is he and where did he come from?
He’s Seth Martinez. If you’re like me, you saw the name “Seth” in an article about Red Sox transactions and briefly celebrated because you thought that Seth Lugo was coming to Boston. Seth Martinez is not Seth Lugo. He does, however, own a World Series ring from his time in Houston in 2022, where he put up a 2.09 ERA across 29 games despite not pitching in the postseason.
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In total, Martinez boasts 144 Major League innings. The 31-year-old righty most recently pitched in the Marlins organization, where he spent most of the year in Triple-A Jacksonville. The Red Sox signed him to a minor league deal and gave him a non-roster Spring Training invite. He’s also out of options, which means if he’s not on the Major League roster, he’s getting waived, traded or released outright.
Is he any good?
He wasn’t great in 2024, which is the only time he qualified for league rankings in his career. He struck out just 36 batters in 52 2/3 innings that year. Plus, his average fastball velocity didn’t reach 91, He also didn’t quite have it in his limited time on Miami’s Major League roster last season, where his 5.40 ERA was actually quite a bit less than his 7.19 FIP. He does have 7.1 inches of extension, which is something that Andrew Bailey has always gotten excited about. His career numbers look a little better since he was a solid multi-inning option out of the Astros’ bullpen, and so that “anything under 4.00 isn’t good” benchmark is really put to the test with Martinez, who has exactly a 4.00 ERA in 117 career games.
Tl;dr, just show me his 2025 stats.
MLB: 6.2 IP, 4 K, 3 BB, 4 H, 2 HR 4 ER
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AAA: 43.3 IP, 54 K, 18 BB, 37 H, 3 HR, 3.71 ERA
Show me a cool highlight.
You don’t need a 99-mile-per-hour fastball to close out a game. This is proof.
What’s he doing in his picture up there?
Attempting to record one of just 20 Major League outs Martinez notched for Miami in 2025.
What’s his role on the 2026 Red Sox?
Just as with Vinny Capra or Tristan Gray, having a guy who you can turn to on the Triple-A roster who’s spent some time in the Show is valuable. It really opens up the ways the remainder of the Triple-A bullpen can be used, which helps guys with brighter dispositions for their careers. Martinez may record some innings in mop-up duty early in 2026 just due to his experience getting more than three outs in relief in his career, but if he’s recording meaningful situations with high leverage, it will signal that something went pretty badly on the depth chart.
