Martinez, 28, has had two seasons shaped by shoulder trouble. In 2018, he had three injuries that ranged from an oblique strain to shoulder soreness. He and the team traced the injuries back to a lingering weakness in his right shoulder. This past spring, he had to stop his throwing program and enter a strengthening program because of similar trouble with the shoulder. Martinez described it as a hesitance to throw at full strength for multiple innings. He was able to throw at maximum effort in the first inning, but as he felt weakness in the shoulder his trepidation would also increase.

He said during spring training that he didn’t have the same issue in short bursts or when being used on consecutive days, as he would as a reliever.

When he returned from injury, Martinez began as a reliever and took over at closer when Jordan Hicks required elbow surgery. Martinez had 24 saves in the role and was the most efficient closer in baseball the second half of the season as the Cardinals surged to a NL Central title. He had difficulty during their National League Division Series, against Atlanta, with six runs allowed in 3 1/3 innings. In the NL Championship Series, the Cardinals never had a lead for him to hold. He retired one of the two batters he faced in that series.