The Giants have a lot of work to do in free agency. After a disappointing season that saw the team tie a Major League record for players used, Buster Posey and Zack Minasian must knock free agency out of the park if the Giants are to compete for a playoff spot next season.

While the top free agents in Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, and Michael King should be on the priority list for the Giants decision makers, one under-the-rader free agent pitcher is predicted to sign with San Francisco.

In his Top 25 Free Agent predictions, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report has the Giants handing a two-year, $36 million contract to Nick Martinez, coming off a career year that culminated in a World Series berth with the Rays.

Martinez Will Help The Giants

If the Giants sign Martinez, their rotation will certainly improve. An All-Star in 2026, Martinez pitched to a 3.10 ERA in 180 innings for a Tampa Bay team that made a run to the World Series. In those 180 innings, Martinez struck out 109 batters while walking just 26, numbers better than any qualified starter for the Giants last season, including Logan Webb.

Those numbers are great for a Giants team that didn't get much of anything out of its pitchers last season. 180 innings means Martinez has the ability to pitch deep into games, limiting the usage of the Giants poor bullpen (another area they must improve). The most intriguing stat from Martinez's All-Star season, however, is the 26 walks.

Among qualified pitchers in 2026, Martinez led Major League Baseball with a staggering 1.3 walks-per-nine rate. This would massively help the Giants. As a team, the Giants pitching staff was 6th in the league for most walks allowed, next to the Nationals, A's, and Angels (conversely, the Rays were the best team in baseball at not allowing walks).

Outside of the great numbers, Martinez also has NL West experience as a member of the Padres. In two years with San Diego, Martinez was mostly a reliever, but eclipsed 100 innings with an ERA under 3.50 in both seasons. Good numbers against division rivals and an otherworldly walk rate should pique the interest of Buster Posey to add Martinez into a pitching staff that needs all the help they can get.

One Stipulation

Adding Martinez would help the Giants immensely. He can't be the only addition to the staff.

If the Giants truly want to compete in the National League next season, they must find ways to add to the starting rotation outside of Martinez. While they have the money to compete with the Dodgers for Tarik Skubal, the Giants already have three expensive, long term contracts on the books and may not want to go that route.

That leaves Michael King and Martinez's teammate in Freddy Peralta, the two best free agent pitchers not named Skubal. If the Giants can find a way to add one of those guys alongside Martinez, the offseason will be looked at much more positively than just signing Martinez alone.

Buster Posey has a lot of questions to answer for the Giants to compete in 2027 and most of them start with pitching. There's many avenues that the team could and should explore if they want the fans excited heading into Spring Training, and if Nick Martinez finds himself in the Orange and Black, there may be a reason to celebrate.