Who is Nick Martini? Reds Opening Day breakout star has been a journeyman

CINCINNATI — Maybe you heard the name Nick Martini last year at Great American Ball Park, but for those of you who get to know a new season's Reds team on Opening Day, allow him to re-introduce himself.

Martini hit two home runs, driving in 5 RBIs in his first two Opening Day at-bats with the Cincinnati Reds.

The 33-year-old designated hitter drove in more runs in those first two at-bats than he did in all of 2021 when he played for the Chicago Cubs.

Martini, or "Tini" as his MLB.com bio lists his nickname, has been a bit of a journeyman in his professional career. Originally from Illinois, Martini played his college ball at Kansas State. From 2011-2018, he played on six different minor league teams until he made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics in 2018. It was his first year he played the most games of any season in the majors with 55. His batting average that season was promising, hitting .296.

He suffered a knee injury during spring training of 2019, and he bounced back and forth between AAA Las Vegas and Oakland throughout most of the year. Martini only hit .091 while with the A's that year, but was hitting an impressive .328 in Vegas. He was eventually designated for assignment by the Athletics and claimed off of waivers by the San Diego Padres.

The Reds originally picked up Martini in the offseason that year on November 25, claiming him off waivers from the Padres, but designated him for assignment only two months later.

Martini had a stint in and out of the minors with the Chicago Cubs organization in 2021, but elected free agency when he was sent back down to the minors at the end of the season. After a year of playing no baseball at all, Martini was signed to a minor league contract in February 2023 and assigned to the Louisville Bats, the Reds AAA-affiliate.

He made his debut with the Reds on August 22, 2023, and hit .264 in 29 games for the Reds last year.

Martini has only 10 home runs in his entire career, but hit two of them at his home Opening Day debut for the Reds. He can play outfield, but the left-handed hitter is considered more of a strong offensive weapon in the DH position or pinch-hitting against right-handed pitching. He got one of the last roster spots available on the team, and was featured in the starting lineup after the injuries started to mount for the Redlegs.

His role this year with the Reds was expected to be a contributor off the bench, but if he stays on pace for what would be more than 300 home runs, we may see him featured more in the lineup.

Timothy D. Easley/AP