Rangers Sign Chris Martin

Jan. 7: Martin’s deal with the Rangers guarantees him $5.5MM, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. Murray adds that Martin turned down more money from other clubs to return to his hometown club for what’ll be the final season of his career. WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox were one team that made a more lucrative offer.

Jan. 6: The Rangers announced the signing of veteran reliever Chris Martin to a one-year deal. Financial terms remain unreported. Martin is represented by ISE Baseball. Texas designated Matt Festa for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Martin, an Arlington native, heads home for what’ll likely be his final season. The 38-year-old righty said in September that he’s 95% confident he’ll retire after 2025. That’s not because of a dip in effectiveness. Martin remains a capable high-leverage arm and is coming off a strong two-year run in Boston.

The Red Sox inked Martin to a $17.5MM free agent deal over the 2022-23 offseason. It was a bit of a gamble considering his age, but the nine-year MLB veteran made good on that investment within one season. Martin turned in a dazzling 1.05 earned run average across 51 1/3 innings in 2023. He earned a couple down-ballot Cy Young votes in the process.

Last season was more good than dominant. Martin worked to a 3.45 ERA while throwing 44 1/3 innings. He had a brief injured list stint related to anxiety in the middle of June. Martin also missed a month with elbow inflammation between early July and the first week of August. He returned with 10 innings and only one earned run over the next couple weeks before allowing six runs in eight September frames.

Martin was almost certainly not going to manage an ERA around 1.00 in consecutive seasons. His strikeout and walk profile actually improved last year. He fanned 27.8% of batters faced after running a 23.1% strikeout rate in 2023. Martin cut his already pristine walk rate from 4% to a career-low 1.7% clip. He’s arguably the best strike-thrower in the majors. No pitcher with at least 100 innings over the last three seasons has issued walks at a lower rate than Martin (2.6%).

Over his two seasons with the Sox, Martin managed a 2.16 ERA across 95 1/3 innings. He has found success at every stop since returning from a stint in Japan between 2016-17. That includes a previous run in Texas. The Rangers were the team that gave Martin a chance during the 2017-18 offseason. He combined for 79 2/3 innings of 3.84 ERA ball before being traded to the Braves at the 2019 deadline.

Texas has loaded on up on short-term additions to fix a bullpen that could lose each of Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc and José Ureña. They’ve signed Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner on one-year contracts worth $2.5MM or less. Texas also brought in southpaw Robert Garcia from Washington in the Nathaniel Lowe trade. While finances on Martin are unreported, it’s fair to assume he’ll be the most expensive of Chris Young’s bullpen acquisitions to this point. Still, there’s limited downside with a one-year deal.

Martin is the most experienced of the Texas relievers. He has worked in a setup capacity throughout his career and has never saved more than four games in a season. It’s unclear if the Rangers plan for him to close or will use him in leverage spots. Yates and Robertson have far more closing experience and are still free agents. Whatever the role, Martin adds much needed stability to a bullpen that might still be the team’s biggest question.

Texas signed Festa, 31, to a minor league deal last season. The Rangers selected his contract in August. He made 18 appearances over the final six weeks, working to a 4.37 ERA across 22 2/3 innings. The righty had made a brief appearance for the Mets earlier in the year. He has spent the bulk of his career with the Mariners, with whom he posted a 4.32 ERA in 89 outings over four seasons. Texas will have five days to trade Festa or place him on waivers.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.