Rangers To Re-Sign Chris Martin

The Rangers and veteran right-hander Chris Martin are in agreement on a one-year deal, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The salary for the ISE Baseball client has not yet been publicly reported. Texas has a couple of 40-man vacancies and doesn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Not so long ago, it seemed like Martin was on his way out the door. Just over a year ago, in September of 2024, he said he was 95% sure that 2025 would be his final season. He turned 39 years old in June and made a few trips to the injured list during the campaign. The first IL stint was in May due to shoulder fatigue, followed by another in July due to a calf strain. Most ominously, his season was ended in late September due to a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Taken all together, it was fair to assume he would be hanging up his spikes. But just a few days ago, it was reported that he was planning to pitch in 2026. His current health status isn’t known but presumably the Rangers feel good about what he can contribute next year.

When he was healthy enough to be on the mound in 2025, his results were still good. He was still averaging in the mid-90s with his four-seamer and sinker, while also mixing in a cutter, splitter, slider and knuckle curve. Long one of the best control pitchers in the majors, he tossed 42 1/3 innings while only walking 4.6% of batters faced. He also struck out 24.7% of opponents and got grounders on 42.6% of balls in play. Put that all together and he allowed 2.98 earned runs per nine innings for the year.

The Texas front office has been given some budgetary constraints over the past few years. Last winter, they put together their bullpen primarily via a series of small one-year deals. In addition to Martin, they also signed Hoby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong. That actually ended up working quite well, as the Texas bullpen was pretty good in 2025. But since they limited themselves to one-year deals, almost the entire bullpen hit free agency at season’s end.

Going into 2026, they are looking to rebuild the relief corps but appear to again be working with limited resources. They recently signed lefty Tyler Alexander to a modest one-year deal. They also reportedly have an agreement with Alexis Díaz. The numbers on that deal haven’t been reported yet but it’s surely on the low side as well. Martin made $5.5MM in 2025. Given his age and the injuries he dealt with in 2025, he shouldn’t be in line for much of a raise, or any at all.

RosterResource currently projects the Rangers to have a 2026 payroll about $50MM lower than in 2025, but since they are expected to spend less on next year’s team, they should have less than $50MM to work with. They are looking to bolster the rotation and add a righty bat, but continuing to build out the bullpen is also on the to-do list.

Photo courtesy of Lon Horwedel, D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images