Rays $13 million free agency steal makes modern MLB history

The Tampa Bay Rays have been one of the more successful teams in Major League Baseball during the 2026 season. They're 35-20, sitting 1.5 games up on the New York Yankees for the AL East lead.

There is a lot to like about this team, from the dominance of Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, and Junior Caminero to the return of Shane McClanahan; this Rays team is a fun one. But there's one other pitcher besides McClanahan who deserves his flowers.

As USA Today's Bob Nightengale highlighted, the Rays $13 million free agent steal this past offseason, Nick Martinez, has made some MLB history that only makes this contract look like even more of a steal.

Rays' Nick Martinez makes MLB history at 35 years old

"The Rays made one of the greatest acquisitions of the offseason when they signed veteran pitcher Nick Martinez to a one-year, $13 million contract," Nightengale writes. "... Martinez, 35, is 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA, becoming the oldest pitcher to yield two or fewer runs in his first 11 starts in a season in modern baseball history."

While this is a bit more of a cherry-picked statistic, it's still a record for Martinez that's more than deserved considering how well he's pitched this season.

In 11 starts, Martinez has a 1.62 ERA with 41 strikeouts and a 5-1 record. In all 11 of his stats this season, regardless of how deep into a game he goes, he's not once allowed more than two earned runs in an outing.

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His worst outing was allowing two runs in 5.2 innings of work, which also happened to be his lone loss on the season. But, even that outing was one out shy of being deemed a quality start.

He does allow some hits during his starts, as his 1.11 WHIP is a little high for where his 1.62 ERA stands, but he's still very much one of the best pitchers in the league this season, and this feat of history is still an interesting anecdote for his 2026 campaign.

It might not be a traditional record, but it will be interesting to see how long he can keep this two-run-or-fewer streak going. The former Cincinnati Reds starter has been awesome for the Rays this season, as his $13 million contract has looked like a total steal thus far.

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