Tuesday, March 17

Welcome back to the Rays Beat newsletter, which will land in your inbox throughout the season. 

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Before the Rays signed right-hander Nick Martinez, Kevin Cash put in a call to Reds manager Terry Francona to ask about the veteran swingman. Francona couldn’t stop singing the praises of Martinez, and it didn’t have much to do with him being an effective and versatile pitcher for Cincinnati.

It was more about everything else Martinez did.

“I told him he’s one of my favorite guys. I said, ‘I’m telling you, if you have him, you will love him,’” Francona told reporters in Reds camp. “He called like the second day, and he goes, ‘I already do.’”

Martinez has only spent about a month in the Rays' clubhouse, but he’s already living up to his reputation as an elite teammate.

Good clubhouse chemistry comes in many forms. It’s a difficult thing to explain. Impossible to quantify. You know it when you feel it. But Martinez is a big believer in the power of a unified group, saying that having a room full of players in a “good state of mind” is conducive to success on the field.

“I think camaraderie is that special sauce that’s in championship-winning teams,” he said. “If we can create a culture in here of being good teammates and playing to win, it's gonna be a fun year.”

Martinez, 35, takes that responsibility seriously. His locker in the corner of the home clubhouse at Charlotte Sports Park is an ideal vantage point to get a feel for the room. He’s near a handful of other players who have taken on leadership roles in the clubhouse, including Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan, Junior Caminero and fellow newcomers Steven Matz and Cedric Mullins.

Cash quickly took note of the way that Martinez approaches games when he’s not pitching. The Rays don’t require their pitchers to be in the dugout during Spring Training when they’re not playing, but Martinez is a frequent visitor. And he’s a pacer, going up and down the dugout, chatting up everyone he sees.

“He’s available, and he initiates conversation. He initiates support,” Cash said. “He’s actively having conversations with position players and pitchers alike. It's easy to talk to your buddies about pitching, but I'm watching him interact with our position group.”

His team-building efforts extend beyond the dugout and the clubhouse. Spring Training’s early days and relaxed atmosphere provide valuable opportunities to get together and create the bonds that tie teams together.

That takes on many forms. Last week, he went golfing with McClanahan. (“I was on the round of my life,” Martinez quipped, “then the back nine happened.”) What started out as a weekly trivia night with Martinez and reliever Steven Wilson grew into a group of 12 players and their significant others.

During previous stops, he organized team dinners and hotel get-togethers on the road. He set up team poker nights and arranged for groups to attend concerts together.

“That’s what Spring Training is for. It's nice to pick up the vibe on what guys like to do and get the personality to everyone,” he said. “I think it's just picking up on what guys like to do here, picking up on the vibe.”

His understanding of how to make that work while keeping everyone focused on winning came in his first years as a big leaguer.

Dropped into the mid-2010s Texas Rangers clubhouse, he was guided by fellow Miami native J.P. Arencibia and veteran starter Colby Lewis. Derek Holland let Martinez live with him in 2016, free of charge. He closely observed the way veterans like Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, Shin-Soo Choo, Mike Napoli, Yovani Gallardo and Cole Hamels went about their business and ran the clubhouse.

“I was very, very lucky in who I had to look up to in a Major League clubhouse,” Martinez said. “I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys.”

But part of it also comes naturally for Martinez.

Growing up, his dad hosted parties and family barbecues. Martinez and his family have carried on that tradition, hosting friends and other family members in the offseason. Early on in his Minor League career, he came to appreciate how special it was to spend time with teammates in the clubhouse before and after games.

“It might just be my personality,” he said. “I like being a ‘hang’ guy, just hanging out with the guys.”

The Rays have set their season-opening starting rotation.

Rasmussen will pitch on Opening Day, as previously reported. He’ll be followed in St. Louis by Martinez and Matz. Ryan Pepiot will start the series opener in Milwaukee, and McClanahan will complete the first turn on March 31.

The idea was to separate the pitchers with potential innings limits, including Matz, McClanahan and, to a lesser extent, Rasmussen. Martinez and Pepiot should be prepared to handle a heavier workload in the early going.

• The Rays’ outfield work has been a highlight of camp, Cash said. Read more>>

• McClanahan and Brandon Lowe faced each other for the first time on Sunday. Hijinks ensued. Read more>>

• Jake Fraley and his family celebrated an incredible, emotional moment last week. Read more>>

• Edwin Uceta won’t be ready for Opening Day, but his recovery is going well. Read more>>

• We took another shot at projecting the Rays’ Opening Day roster. Read more>>

As the Rays prepare for a move back to Tropicana Field, they sent slick-fielding shortstop Taylor Walls inside their home dome to get a feel for the new turf and infield dirt. Walls paid the Trop a visit on March 7 and spent 30-45 minutes fielding grounders and fly balls from different angles at every infield position.

“A rough first scouting of it, just to kind of see if there was anything out of the ordinary or something extremely different than what it used to play like,” Walls said.

Walls reported that the infield played “pretty true,” not quite as fast as the previous surface, and more in line with Miami’s ballpark. There are still some differences in the roof panels, with the newer ones bleaching from orange to white in the sun, but he found it easier to see fly balls against the new roof.

Walls also took a peek at the Rays’ clubhouse, which has undergone additional modifications amid the repairs. His initial review? “Amazing,” he said.

Tickets for the Rays’ re-opening homestand are available here.

To subscribe to Rays Beat, visit this page and mark "Rays Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Rays or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.