The Dodgers have made one of the first bullpen pickups of note prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline, announcing Saturday that they’ve acquired right-hander Chris Martin from the Cubs in exchange for infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry.
Martin, 36, is playing the 2022 season on a one-year, $2.5MM contract he signed as a free agent this winter. His deal comes with $750K worth of incentives, paid out in the form of a $100K bonus for reaching each of 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 appearances, plus $125K for spending 40 and 90 days on the active roster.
Martin has already appeared in 34 games and logged 31 1/3 innings of 4.31 ERA ball this season, although fielding-independent metrics are far more bullish (3.02 FIP, 2.09 SIERA). Martin has been uncharacteristically homer-prone this year but has maintained his elite command of the strike zone. He’s punched out 30.1% of his opponents thus far and walked just four of the 133 batters he’s faced (3.1%). One of those free passes was of the intentional variety, it should be noted, and Martin has also yet to hit a batter this season.
The towering 6’8″ Martin is one of the more notable overseas success stories in recent years. After a nondescript run with the Rockies and Yankees in 2014-15, he signed with Japan’s Nippon-Ham Fighters and tore through NPB lineups over a brilliant two-year stint there. He signed with the Rangers for the 2018 campaign and, after a pedestrian first season back in MLB has solidified himself as a quality late-inning reliever. Over the past four seasons, Martin touts a 3.46 ERA with a 26.5% strikeout rate and an impeccable 3% walk rate. Among the 431 pitchers who’ve thrown at least 100 big league innings in that time, Martin’s walk rate is the second-lowest in the game (narrowly trailing former teammate Josh Tomlin’s 2.9% mark).
Martin will give manager Dave Roberts some reinforcement in what’s been a generally strong but also very injury-plagued relief corps. Dodgers relievers rank sixth in the Majors with s 3.37 ERA, but they’ve lost Daniel Hudson for the season (torn ACL), aren’t clear when Blake Treinen (shoulder) will return, and also have each of Brusdar Graterol, Victor Gonzalez and Tommy Kahnle on the injured list at present.
In return for their one-year investment in Martin, the Cubs will acquire as many as five additional seasons of control over the 27-year-old McKinstry, who made his debut with the 2020 Dodgers and has been an up-and-down utility option in L.A. since that time. A lefty hitter with experience at second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield spots (albeit just 18 innings in center), McKinstry has posted just a .210/.266/.403 batting line in the big leagues. That’s come in a tiny sample of 193 plate appearances, however, and he’s been outstanding during his time at the Triple-A level.
McKinstry, a former 33rd-round pick, has logged 489 plate appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City in parts of three seasons and put together a huge .323/.401/.550. The Pacific Coast League is a known hitters’ haven, but McKinstry has nonetheless been well above league-average on a rate basis and racked up an impressive 18 home runs, 25 doubles and nine triples there. He’s fanned in just 15.7% of his plate appearances and walked at a 10.8% clip as well.
While McKinstry likely profiles more as a utility player than a starter at the big league level, there’s at least a chance he could hit enough to be a regular at second base — his best defensive position. If not, he’ll give the Cubs someone to bounce around the diamond as a valuable role player for the foreseeable future. McKinstry will be out of minor league options next season, so he should receive ample opportunity sooner than later.
ESPN’s Buster Olney first reported that Martin had been traded to the Dodgers (Twitter link). Patrick Mooney of The Athletic first reported that McKinstry was headed to the Cubs in return (Twitter link).
Hopefully cubs get a decent return.
Didn’t you hear what the Rockies said? There are no decent returns!
“Why is everyone low-balling our ineptly run franchise?”
Cubs get Zach Mckinstry
.903 ops in AAA this year in 223 plate appearances
Daaaaaaaaamn that’s a pretty good return for Chicago. As recently as a year or so ago mckinstry was going to be the next big thing for LA
Well, he was going to be the next Kiké Hernandez, so that depends on whether you think he is a big thing.
His bat potential faaaaar exceeded that of Hernandez though. He was our #2(?) prospect at one time
I don’t recall anyone labeling the 33rd round pick as the next big thing but the dodgers always loved his versatility and attitude. Left handed hitter who can move all around the diamond, and is still pre-arb eligible. Good pick up for the cubs for a 36 year old RP with 1.5 years of control left.
Dodgers have Alvarez, Amaya (RHB), and Busch at AAA who can offer similar profiles.
I think both teams will get what they need out of the trade and be happy with the outcome.
That’s what it’s all about . Both teams happy they trade with again
Ok fair enough. I guess I must have just had him higher in my own mind. As I look back on previous rankings he wasn’t as high as I was remembering.
Greater potential, less reality. I wonder which one is more important? Hernandez is also better and more versatile defensively. He defends well everywhere he’s played, and you can’t say the same about McKinstry.
He was never LA’s #2 prospect.
Yeah, thus the question mark
Hasn’t hit so far in a small sample MLB run but a good return for a reliever. As a former 33rd round pick though, not many of those guys ever pan out.
Djmdmdmdm
Sorry about this comment. It took 3 mins just to post the first one
3 minutes and that’s the best you came up with??
Yes. I refresh about 5 or 6 times and there was still nothing. Sorry and Scheisse
I want to see a plethora of trades
Adam….do you even know what a plethora is? I mean…..I just dont want someone to tell me I have a plethora, if they don’t know what a plethora is!!
Reminds me of when Iron Mike said he was going to hit somebody in his equilibrium.
How about a veritable plethora? We grow them in our back yard.
“Would you say that I have a…plethora of sweaters?”
Name the movie.
El Guapo makes us all look bad!
Would you say I had a plethora……three amigos..bwaaaaaa…..el guapo
Gwynn……I knew you’d get it!
Put this in the “never thought I’d say this” rolodex… but all thanks go to Larry Brown’s crank!
NOTIFY THE PRESS! Oh my, this will not keep me awake…
@Gwynning
MIssed this yesterday, but WELL DONE, mi amigo.
@Bluesman99026
Day late, but +1000 thumbs for you.
Sounds like a plethora of thumbs up!
Gwynn! hahahahahahaha‼️
Solid addition
He’s a good reliever
I don’t know anything about him. But his career 4.10 and his 2022 era of 4.31 has me nervous already. Sounds like kimbrel part 2
Don’t look at ERA.
Pretty much anybody is better than Kimbrel these days.
I sincerely hope his ERA shoots up to 20 with the Dodgers.
We love your sincerity.
For some reason I can’t explain, I knew the Dodgers would call his name.
He can now hook back up with Gwyneth Paltrow in LA
When you have Dakota Johnson as.your girlfriend, you can quickly forget about everybpdy else.
I don’t know if I’d want a girlfriend who the entire planet has seen nude countless times
Hard to be snobby with a 10 gf
For some reason I can’t explain I knew the Dodgers would call his name
I find it funny that we get our baseball news from twitter nowadays.
Sooner have the Coldplay guy
Cubs will get a nominal return at best for a 36 year old reliever with an ERA over 4.00. Martin’s strikeout and walk numbers have been excellent but he’s allowing 1.4 HRs per 9 this year which has really hurt him. Maybe the Cubs get a prospect in the 20-30 range of the Dodgers farm system. Shouldn’t be much more than that.
I would expect the Dodgers ball park to be more forgiving than Wriggly Field
Agree.
More likely that the Cubs give the Dodgers a prospect to take Martin and his remaining salary
@socal- That was never likely lol
Cubs got a steal and major salary relief avoiding Martins bonuses and Dodgers gave up useful player but he wasn’t going to get playing time with Dodgers and would just be a throw in guy with a bigger deal so Cubs save money and a potential useful player for years to come and Dodgers get a potentially useful arm to help out with injuries if they can’t get a bigger deal done for bullpen.. No downside for either and possibly very useful player for a rebuilding Cubs team
Martin is making 2.5 million. That’s like 7 beers at wrigley.
Whew. At least the Braves didn’t trade for the big man again. Usually he was decent but he gets absolutely clobbered occasionally.
Me thinks you’ve described 95% of relief pitchers there, Fred…
Me thinks you’ve described 95% of all relief pitchers there, Fred…
Hope LAD allow him to pitch a decisive game…we know how that goes (2020 NLCS G7).
I mean now he won’t need to face Cody
Good bullpen piece, also good singer as well
Why would the Dodgers want him when there are so many better relief options available for virtually same cost??? I am perplexed.
“Same cost” there have been no reports on the reported “costs”
Because he has been really good of late, has a consistent track record of being a solid reliver, throws strikes and you know what to expect from him. There is no Aug waiver deadline so this gives solid depth and protects in caase of more injuries. Also, not like he is going to cost much.
his era 6.50 in the month of July. Thursday against the Giants snapped a string of 4 straight appearances of him allowing at least one run.
Cost hasn’t been reported. Hopefully it’s just “cash considerations” lol
Ok yeah now I’m with you after seeing they sent mckinstry in the deal. This Martin guy better be better than his era
Dodgers don’t pay up for relievers for the most part. They were looking for a reliever at a reasonable cost. The elite relievers are going to command too much in return. Dodgers don’t want to take up much salary unless worth it or give up too many prospects especially for a reliever. I’m fine with this acquisition. McKinstry will most likely not produce much at MLB level although he hasn’t had much of a chance. He’s versatile but the glove is suspect and hasn’t hit much at MLB level.
They pay up plenty, but a lot of it goes to long shots who we see little if at all (Kahnle, Nelson, Duffy). They also paid up pretty good for Treinen, Hudson, and Kimbrel.
Wow !!! Good move. One area they needed help was bullpen. His peripherals are amazing. Tradez seasonz
I don’t know anything about him. But I looked up his numbers and career ERA is over 4, and season era is 4.31
Hopefully those peripherals are REALLY good
31% K rate this season, along with a 3% BB rate. I’d say that’s pretty good?
Ok that’s better than the quick glance at his era like I did. But wow mckinstry is a hefty price. Hopefully this guy stays true to his peripheral numbers
.296 BAA; .393 BABIP — he gets hit frequently
He also has struck out around 33% of the 100&something batters he faced while walking only 4 (one being an ibb). Sounds like most of his troubles this season has been the longball. Hopefully pitching in LA instead of Chicago will help some of that
McKinstry is not that good. He had one year worth of great production at AAA. That’s it. Hasn’t shown much at MLB and suspect glove.
They are good..his SIERa is like 2.09
Cubs beat reporter is saying Zach McKinstry heading to Chicago in return for Chris Martin
Then a good trade by Cubs — McKinstry just needs a chance to play consistently — a very good utility player
Does he have an option remaining after this winter?
I don’t believe so. Lol
One option.
Wait and see what the Dodgers do to maximize Martin and he becomes a great reliever. Dodgers don’t sign or trade for a pitcher unless they already have a plan to help maximize him. Good luck to Martin and Mckinstry.
He’ll get a phantom injury the min the moment is too big for him
glad to see Zach get a chance to play….
He’s had quite a few chances to play but hasn’t hit in majors or shown the defensive versatility the Dodgers prize.
He’s had chances to play in very small inconsistent clips. 2 games here, sent down for two weeks to make room on the 40, gets called back up when someone gets hurt but doesn’t start, usually ph or pr. Then he’ll start for 4 or 5, get sent back down, etc
In 2021 he slashed .296/.328/.556 in first month of season until right oblique injury put him on the IL for 5 or 6 weeks. Never the same hitter when he returned. He has done very well at AAA, but no consistent at bats for Dodgers this season.
And he is out of options after this year. Dodgers would have lost him for nothing after this year, so they at least got a good RP for him.
One month, really? You know how it works, Players who come up and adjust get the consistent ABs and stay up, or at least come back up more frequently. When you see the Dodgers pick up guys like Jake Lamb and Hanser Alberto, you have to know the original plan isn’t really working out they way they hoped.
Lamb has been awesome, wish we would extend him today on the cheap
I don’t know if I’d go as far as awesome, but he’s been a solid fill-in. But remember Lamb was a dumpster dive that has worked out, at least so far.
Great pedigree, great approach, strong front shoulder that gives him great exit velo/drive
I said 3 months ago teams should be raiding us for Jake Lamb who has looked awesome at the plate for the whole calendar year in Blue whatever the league he has been in. He’s a MLB starter next year somewhere on a strong side platoon; I think your underestimating the player and maybe not completely aware of his pedigree with the DD comment
Not that many, particularly this year.
“He’s had quite a few chances to play”
He’s been called up since June 3. He’s had 2 starts since then. 12 at bats for the entire year so far.
Many call-ups over three seasons. He’s gotten fewer chances this year because the Dodgers figure they get more out of Alberto and Lamb. Which, they do.
A guy who’s hit over .330 over an extended time in Triple A is worth taking a shot on. Seems like a perfect change of scenery player to me.
He has a total of 193 MLB plate appearances, how do you describe that as, “quite a few chances to play”?
You’re asking me to answer the same question a second time?
Is McKinstry out of options after this year, or does he have one more? I guess he is better than Simmons.
yep call up and down reached their max with him plus he just was not working out on MLB level like they hoped.
It was a salary dump by the Cubs. Martin was hot and cold with no future on the Cubs. Doubt if Zach McKinstry sticks with a .091 ba. Nothing for nothing gets you nothing.
He probably goes to Iowa for now, but if Happ gets traded he could get a fair run in LF along with Nelson Velasquez, plus he’d be backing up Hoerner and Madrigal. My guess is that he will get 90 PA in Chicago in August and September.
Madrigal is not ever, going to be the prime time 2B for the Cubs.
McKinstry comes with 5 more years of control, was a solid prospect for the LAD, has dominated the upper levels of the minors, and plays all over the diamond. He just never got consistent PAs in LA. How is that a bad return or even comparable to “nothing getting you nothing”
You’re about as clueless as Chris Evans, solid name choice.
this is the fairest comment section i’ve ever read. No one going sideways. No one ripping anyone. These are odd times.
They don’t know enough about the players at hand to rip
Not too loud, the hooligans are at the city gate just waiting to pounce…
Listen, punk..
Sorry, didn’t know strong opinions are verboten on…a discussion board.
?? No one said they were. He just pointed out that this particular comment section was more civil than this site usually sees
zach hit like a witch his first time up and never got that going again. good luck in Chicago….and it was all yellow
But in his defense he was never really given a consistent shot when he (finally) came back after that oblique. He hit almost .300 until that point
A gofundme account has been set up for Zach McKinstry. Who is struggling with both his bat and the fact that he has to report to the Cubs who are on a another 100 year quest to win a World Series. Keep the faith, Zach McKinstry!
Yeah, you posted this like three times already
A gofundme account has been set up for Zach McKinstry. Who is struggling with the fact that he has to report to the Cubs who are on a another 100 year quest to win a World Series. Keep the faith, Zach McKinstry!
Nice trade for Lad-
Lad had to ship out a 40 man spot not just some low level prospects . I wouldn’t be surprised if Zach asked for this on the low, he’s had some small beefs in the past with not getting enough run
Martins been very good for spells in the past- Dodgers love the low BB% Rp’s as their defensive alignment is best in the game
Bigger Note- Happy to see Castillo move to Sea, just holding my breath we don’t get near a Juan Soto deal – Keep the prospects the Il is loaded with help coming soon
Absolutely agree. We don’t need Soto nearly as much as we need that constant stream that our farm produces for both on-field help & trade packages
I’m a touch scared Semut; Hoping for the quietest offseason ever
We really don’t have the 40 spots to take in many players – I was thinking 3 players max (hopefully 2 Rps and an inns eater) .
Probably have to jettison another “40” player like Victor Gonzalez/Bickford as well if we make further moves – The crunch they are going to face here by the end of August will be tough, best get ahead of it today
great post. Walks are the one thing that there is no defense against.
Mckinstry is a good return for the cubs, but not an overpay. Has potential to be a starter for them after they move more pieces. If they get competitive in a few years could be a decent bench bat
I agree.
McKinstry also went to HS in Indiana and college in Michigan so sending him to the Midwest might be a preferred destination. He’ll get more run in Chicago than on other teams, while not being a threat to the Dodgers in October. Those might not be considerations from LA but this trade seems like a match on a few different levels.
A go fund me account has been set up for Zach MckKinstry.
Zach has to report to the Cubs who are in the midst of a 100 year old quest for a World Series ring.
Were you in a coma in 2016?
If you post it 6 more times it might get a laugh.
No, still bad then too
It is funny but not the way Eric Olson thinks it is. It’s always funny when people like him try desperately to be clever but only succeed in making pathetic fools of themselves due to their own ignorance.
I wonder who we will see in the 4th bn spot till Taylor gets back….maybe Outman ?
Alvarez?
They just called Outman up about 3 minutes after you said that
He seems the nearest (w/out messing w service time)
Sept is when we could get a look at Vargas or Busch
I really hope we don’t get another bat as well via trade . I’m perfectly fine with a bn of Barnes Thompson Lamb and Alberto once Taylor comes back. I don’t see much need to upgrade Alberto who’s been great for team chemistry and challenging Ohtani for best 2 way player in the game with his 3 era !
Dont forget about Rios. He’s already on a rehab assignment. His bat plays.
Good call cap.
I’ve come around on Alberto, he is a good cheerleader and hearing about how he plays rock, paper, scissors with young fans for autographed baseballs won me over. His attitude seems like an 80 grade tool on the 20-80 scale.
I felt we have missed Kiki’s attitude years past ; Alberto has given some of that back
I’ve come to really like Alberto. There was a game recently where they were saying that over the last few seasons he’s quietly been one of the best bats against lefties, going something like .306 against them
Good call Bruin; I lost him in the shuffle as well ; he’d be a Sept expanded for me and a luxury to see who’s hotter between him and Lamb for the playoffs
Right now, based on what I’ve seen this season so far, Rios is ahead of Muncy on my list. Now, if Muncy of old returns it is a different story.
Yea, I mean playoffs start tomorrow Roberts is slotting Lamb in before Max. I’ll be excited to see Rios back as well; he really needs to learn to hit the off-speed tho as he’s gearing on never seeing a fastball again as his tape is getting out
The lead will give Sept a battleground internally for the playoff abs and some much needed rest for the Big 4 hitters – The Sept roster is going to be insane
We got some pseudo DL trips coming here from the pitchers who need to cut down inns – Prolly try and avoid the 2 east coast trips if possible at the end of this month. That’s where I feel an inns eater like Chad Kuhl could come in handy
He slaughtered lefties in Balt
Numbers haven’t really been there this year but it’s tough on so little pt
McKinstry is a good get for a few months of Chris Martin. The way the Dodgers are structured, McKinstry is the odd man out. But, I think he is an underrated player – and has a great attitude. Cubs fans will have fun rooting for him. I’m actually most glad for McKinstry, who deserves a chance to play more and was not likely to get that chance win LA.
Dodgers obviously needed bullpen reinforcements – so Chris Martin is a good get. Could be a very underrated move when all is said and done.
Calling it right now, Martin will give up a crucial homerun to somebody in the postseason. Bad move for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers didn’t get Martin to pitch in high-leverage postseason situations. If all else fails, by September you’ll see a lot more of Phillips, Vesia and Ferguson in the high leverage situations — all of whom are very capable in those situations and have better “stuff” than Martin. They got Martin to help prevent the potential high-leverage relievers from being worn out come October.
Cubs fans are going to love McKinstry. Ross is going to love his versatility.
I am happy for Zach to finally get a chance to get more consistent playing time.
I am also happy for Martin to get a chance to play in games that matter. Couple that with a batter defense behind him, it is possible he could be a solid addition to the bully.
I do wonder if there is a more significant issue with Graterol and Kahnle that the Dodgers are not sharing with us.
Versatility is nice but he’s really a below avg fielder at every position he plays
Poor man’s Leury Garcia
Lol typical Cubs trade. Asset for nothing
And if the tables were turned you’d be trolling about how the Cubs traded a young utility asset for a washed out 36 yr old reliever with a 4+ ERA.
And your chics for free
The Dodgers fix pitchers.
And hitters. The production they’ve gotten out of Jake Lamb and Trayce Thompson is insane. Hopefully they continue to perform like Muncy and Taylor, two other cast-offs.
It’s possible that super versatile Zach McKinstry could make oft-injured 2B Nick Madrigal expendable with the Cubs. Mckinstry’s best defensive position is 2B although he has the versatility to play all over the infield and outfield. McKinstry might also have the ceiling of former Ray, Royal and Cub Ben Zobrist as an everyday super-utility type player, a role Nico Hoerner could also potentially fill.
As a fan of both Chicago teams, I wouldn’t mind seeing Madrigal return to the White Sox if McKinstry nails down the Cubs 2B gig. Madrigal is set to return to the Cubs active roster shortly after his second 2022 injury and third rehab stint at AAA Iowa.
It will be interesting to see how the Cubs divide playing time down the stretch with Hoerner and the versatile Christopher Morel and David Bote also logging significant innings. The addition of McKinstry and Madrigal will add to the glut if all could stay healthy. Of course, there is still the matter of the August 2nd trade deadline looming which could potentially free up two active roster spots with OF Ian Happ and 3B Patrick Wisdom potential being moved.
McKinstry is reporting to Iowa. Madrigal is the starting 2B when he comes back (probably in St. Louis) and he will take Contreras’ 26 man spot. The Cubs have to trade, option, or DFA one more hitter for McKinstry to have a spot on the 26 man. Probably trade Happ, maybe trade Wisdom or DFA Schwindel.
McKinistry isn’t good. The Dodgers would have played him more if he was good.
Not necessarily. The dodgers lineup is stacked and their throw aways could be a valuable piece for a team like Chicago
Wrong.
I wrote a song……I wrote a song for him…..and it was all yellow.
‘Mellow Yellow’?
Then go get Donovan Solano?
Zach has a lot of potential…good luck in Chicago
Fair enough trade both ways..wonder if this is a prelude to cubs future trades…zach is a plug and play guy they can use all over the diamond…so if they sell off a bunch of assests they have someone to fill holes for the rest of the year..with hope he will live up to some of his potential
Coldplay