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As the Rangers continue to rebuild their bullpen, their list of targets includes a local product, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that the team has interest in the Arlington native Chris Martin. The veteran rescuer said in September that he is “95%certain that 2025 will be his final season, and since Martin is thought to prioritize teams closer to his home in Texas, a return to the Rangers would make a lot of logical sense for both parties.
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Although Martin turns 39 in June and is likely entering his farewell season, his recent results indicate the steed still has plenty to do. Martin posted a 3.45 ERA in 44 1/3 innings for the Red Sox last season, with a 2.43 SIERA more reflective of his performance level. His ability to generate grounders (46.3 percent groundball rate) was undermined by Boston’s poor infield defense, leading to a .353 BABIP that fueled Martin’s misleading ERA.
The rest of his metrics ranged from above average to elite, including a 27.8% strikeout rate, strong soft-contact numbers and Martin’s typically brilliant control. Long one of the best control pitchers in baseball, Martin’s 1.7% walk rate in 2024 was the lowest of any pitcher with at least 40 innings pitched. Perhaps the only question mark clouding Martin last year was his health, as he had three separate trips to the 15-day injured list due to anxiety, right elbow inflammation and a left shoulder issue.
Martin was a late bloomer and didn’t make his MLB debut until age 28, when he was pitching for the Rockies in 2014. After posting a 6.19 ERA in 36 1/3 innings with the Rockies and the Yankees in 2014-15, went to Japan and posted outstanding numbers the next two seasons with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.
This success led to a two-year, $4 million deal with the Rangers during the 2016-17 offseason, when Martin made his return to pitching North American baseball for his hometown team. The time in Texas saw Martin show flashes of his future self, and his success early in the 2019 season led Atlanta to make a deal for him at the 2019 trade deadline. Over five years later, Martin may now be considering a returning to Arlington with a World Series ring (with the 2021 Braves) and $34 million-plus in career earnings in tow, plus an earned reputation as a consistent high-leverage reliever.
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Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young told Grant and other reporters that “the bullpen is the main focus” for the team the rest of the offseason and during the season, and Texas began working as early as the winter. Roberto Garcia, Jacob Webb, Shawn ArmstrongAND Hoby Milner they’ve all been acquired to date, but a more proven late-inning reliever like Martin would stabilize things considerably. Kirby Yates AND AJ Minter they are two of the other unsigned relievers linked to the Rangers according to rumors this offseason.
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