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Rangers Option Kumar Rocker

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The Rangers optioned rookie starter Kumar Rocker to Triple-A Round Rock before tonight’s game against Tampa Bay. That creates an active roster spot for reliever Chris Martin, who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reported the moves before the club announcement.

Rocker just returned from a month-long IL stint. He’d been bothered by a shoulder impingement that knocked him out after five appearances. The former third overall pick had a tough April, allowing more than eight earned runs per nine with a diminished 17% strikeout rate. He was hit hard again last night, giving up five runs on six hits and a pair of walks over 3 1/3 innings in a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay.

The 6’5″ righty also had an ugly mental mistake in yesterday’s game. Jake Mangum was hitting with runners on second and third and two outs in the third inning. He hit a ground-ball to first baseman Jake Burger. Rocker was late off the mound to cover the bag, allowing Mangum to beat it for an RBI infield single. Making matters worse, Rocker continued jogging up the first base line after Burger had flipped him the ball, which allowed the runner from second to score as well.

Manager Bruce Bochy was blunt about the play postgame. “The biggest (mistake) is the fundamental of covering first base. The fundamentals got us tonight. That’s a basic play. It could have saved us two runs,” the veteran skipper told the Texas beat. “He just forgot the situation and the other man on third and it compounded the damage. And that’s the difference in the ball game.”

GM Chris Young told Grant that the demotion was not a punitive decision, instead suggesting that Rocker needs further development time in the minors. It’s difficult to argue given his results this season. The 25-year-old has very little minor league experience. He underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023, his first full professional season. That sidelined him until late last year, when he dominated minor league hitters to earn his MLB debut. He made only 10 minor league appearances, though, tossing 36 2/3 frames overall. He’s made just three career Triple-A starts — one of which was a rehab outing after this year’s shoulder injury.

This temporarily drops Texas to a four-man rotation of Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin and Jack Leiter. They’re without Nathan Eovaldi until at least next Friday as he battles a triceps issue. They’re off on Monday, so they could get by with a four-man rotation if Eovaldi returns after a minimal stint. They could otherwise use a bullpen game or potentially reselect Dane Dunning onto the 40-man roster if they need to buy some time.

Rangers Place Chris Martin On Injured List

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The Rangers placed Chris Martin on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 19, with shoulder fatigue. Righty Cole Winn was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock in the corresponding move.

Martin was removed from Sunday’s game against the Astros after throwing one pitch. That was the result of shoulder soreness, though it came less than a week after Texas had sent him for imaging after he experienced elbow discomfort. Martin did not end up missing any time with the elbow soreness after testing came back negative. The team has downplayed their concern over the shoulder issue as well, but it’s sensible that they’ll give him a couple weeks after a pair of arm issues in such rapid succession.

This will also serve as a potentially necessary rest opportunity for the veteran righty. Martin has made 22 appearances this season, two off the MLB lead. He’d pitched five times between May 11 and 18 alone, including on three straight days from May 11-13. That’s a lot to ask of any pitcher, especially one who is a couple weeks from his 39th birthday.

It’s also a testament to Martin’s continued effectiveness. He has turned in a 1.83 ERA across 19 2/3 innings. Martin has punched out 23 of 77 opposing hitters (29.9%) while remaining one of the sport’s best control artists. He has only issued one unintentional walk all year. Martin has collected nine holds and one save without blowing a lead. He’s alongside Robert Garcia and Jacob Webb as Bruce Bochy’s most trusted setup arms in front of closer Luke Jackson.

Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reported the moves shortly before the team announcement.

Rangers Notes: Gray, Martin, Garcia

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Last weekend, reports surfaced that the Rangers had some “internal discussions” about moving Jon Gray from the rotation to the closer’s role, in a creative way to address both their need for a closer and an on-paper surplus of starting pitchers.  However, it doesn’t appear as though the concept advanced beyond the speculative phase, as both manager Bruce Bochy and president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that they both viewed Gray as assuming his usual starter role this season.

Gray said that he also hadn’t been approached about the idea, even if he was broadly open to closing if it meant helping the team.  But, he also set some lofty targets for his 2025 season, saying that he was “looking to eat a lot of innings.  I’d hopefully like to get to that 200-strikeout mark.  That would be cool.  The swing-and-miss and strikeout rate is something I really want to improve and I think it’s headed in the right direction.”

Gray’s career high in strikeouts is 185, set back in his first full MLB season in 2016 when the righty was still with the Rockies.  His personal best for innings is 172 1/3 frames in the 2018 season, and he has topped the 150-inning threshold in four of his 10 big league seasons.  Most recently, Gray tossed 102 2/3 innings last year, as he twice hit the injured list due to groin strains, and he underwent season-ending surgery in early September to remove a neuroma on the middle toe of his right foot.

“I’m happy with the way the surgery went and had a really good offseason,” Gray said, noting that the neuroma had been bothering him for almost a year, and likely contributed to his groin problems.  The injuries clearly hampered Gray’s performance, as he posted a 4.47 ERA and the lowest full-season strikeout rate (19.6%) of his career.

Beyond his natural competitive spirit in rebounding from a down year, Gray has even more incentive to bounce back since he is set to hit free agency next winter.  Gray is in the final season of the four-year, $56MM deal he signed with Texas during the 2021-22 offseason, and there was some speculation that the Rangers could look to trade Gray this winter in order to clear some money off the books.  No such deal happened, and thus the 33-year-old Gray is now looking for a nice platform year as he approaches the open market once more.

If Gray isn’t the closer or another reliever isn’t brought into the fold, Chris Martin looks like the favorite for saves, assuming that Texas even sticks with a set ninth-inning option.  Bochy told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that “it can be by committee…So by no means are we getting locked in on any roles right now.  I think we’re going to stay flexible with that.”

To this end, Bochy said he hasn’t talked to Martin specifically about working in a closing capacity, but the skipper feels his relievers are “fine with not having a defined role.  They’re used to it, including Chris….They all have great attitudes.  They’re like, ’Hey, we’re there to get outs and use us where you need us to help win a ballgame.’ And that’s how that works.”

Martin has amassed only 14 saves over his nine MLB seasons, though he pointed out to Landry that he had 22 saves over his two seasons in Japan with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2016-17.  Getting some sustained run as a closer might be a fun way for Martin to wind up his career, but he plans to take the same approach no matter how he is utilized out of the Rangers’ bullpen.

“With closing, you still gotta get three outs,” Martin said.  “It’s just the last three of the game, so it can be a little more nerve wracking, but I’ve been around a bit now and I understand it’s just another three outs, whatever the run situation is.”

Robert Garcia is another newly-acquired reliever ticketed for high-leverage innings, as the Rangers acquired Garcia from the Nationals in return for Nathaniel Lowe in December.  The left-hander has yet to properly kick off his first Spring Training with his new team, however, due to some nerve irritation in his forearm.  The issue doesn’t seem too serious, as Bochy told Landry that Garcia is slated to throw his first bullpen session of the spring on Tuesday.

Rangers Have Had “Internal Discussions” About Jon Gray As Closer

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The Rangers are poised to enter Spring Training this year with a dilemma that they haven’t had in recent years: no experienced closers on their roster. Kirby Yates, David Robertson, and Jose Leclerc had a combined 313 saves under their belts when they departed Texas for free agency back in November after serving as the Rangers’ late-inning relief corps in 2024, and the year prior to that lefty Will Smith closed games for the Rangers despite a shaky 4.40 ERA thanks in part to the two 30+ save seasons he had under his belt before he arrived in Texas. This year, however, the club has no such experienced closer to lean on in the ninth inning.

Veteran reliever Chris Martin has the dominant relief numbers often associated with the closer role, but has just 14 career saves and has not recorded more than four in a single season before. Those 14 saves are still enough to make him the most experienced ninth-inning arm in the Rangers’ new-look bullpen, which added interesting pieces like Robert Garcia, Hoby Milner, and Jacob Webb who have pitched well in the past but never been used as a closer. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News noted that it’s possible the club won’t have clearly defined roles in the bullpen entering the season due to the lack of a clear top closing option, though he added that there have been at least “internal discussions” about the possibility of using veteran starter Jon Gray in the ninth inning.

Grant emphasizes that as things currently stand, Gray appears to be more valuable to the club as a starter given the innings he can provide. 2024 was the first 162-game season of Gray’s career where he posted less than 20 starts and 110 innings of work since his nine-start cup of coffee with the Rockies as a rookie back in 2013, and with 1216 2/3 innings of work (including 387 1/3 in a Rangers uniform) under his belt Gray is valuable source of steadiness in a Texas rotation mix filled with aging, oft-injured, or young and unproven arms. Given that, it would hardly be a surprise to see the club simply stick with Gray in the rotation and use Martin for the lion’s share of save chances, or perhaps simply play matchups in the ninth inning without anointing a closer at all.

Even so, the idea of Gray as a reliever is a somewhat intriguing one. Gray was used out of the bullpen four times in 2024, the most he’s ever pitched in relief in his career to this point. While Gray’s seven innings of work out of the bullpen are much too small of a sample size to draw any major conclusions from, his brief work in the role was nothing short of dominant: Gray pitched to a 1.29 ERA in those four appearances with a phenomenal 37% strikeout rate against a 7.4% walk rate. Those are the kind of numbers that could be truly game-changing for a Rangers club that has struggled to find production in the bullpen in recent years, making a potential role change for Gray at least worth considering.

While it seems unlikely that the Rangers would move Gray to the bullpen to start the season, perhaps it could become a more feasible option as the season develops. The Rangers have very little certainty in their rotation, but huge amounts of upside. Top draft picks Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter figure to try and force their way into the rotation with the club this year, and healthy seasons from Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle would be able to turn the club’s starting five from a question mark to a major strength quite suddenly. If things are looking up for the club in the rotation this summer, perhaps Gray’s 4.70 ERA in 19 starts last year becomes less attractive as a steady, back-end option and the club decides to see what the 33-year-old can do as a full-time reliever.

Rangers Could Be Done With Bullpen Additions

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The Rangers have massively overhauled their bullpen this winter, watching Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin depart via free agency while adding Chris Martin, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner, Robert Garcia and Shawn Armstrong in their stead. It’s a group that has plenty of big league experience but lacks the track record and relative star power of their departed firemen — Yates and Robertson in particular. Be that as it may, this week’s reunion with Martin could be the final piece of the relief puzzle for Texas. General manager Ross Fenstermaker told the Rangers beat in the wake of the Martin deal that the Rangers “feel like we’ve done the bulk of our lifting at this point” (link via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News).

That’s not a firm declaration that the team is done adding. Fenstermaker was careful to leave the door open for “creative” and “open-minded” solutions to further deepen the group. However, adding a seasoned closer is not something the organization feels is a pressing need.

Texas entered the offseason making little secret of the fact that its top priority was to re-sign Nathan Eovaldi — a goal they achieved on a three-year, $75MM deal that exceeded general expectations but reflected the steep price of rotation help on this offseason’s open market. At the same time, the Rangers have been angling for ways to remain under the luxury tax, which helps to explain the decision to trade first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals (in exchange for the aforementioned Garcia). Lowe will be replaced at first base by trade acquisition Jake Burger, who’ll earn scarcely more than the league minimum. His left-handed bat will be largely replaced by free agent signee Joc Pederson.

It’s been a creative roster shuffle — one that’s left the Rangers with a talented but injury-prone rotation, a collection of relievers more accurately described as hopefuls than locks to produce, and a reshaped lineup that the front office is hopeful can be more productive against fastballs (a fatal flaw for the ’24 club).

It stands to reason that further dealings could intensify the roster shuffle. Right-hander Jon Gray, entering the final season of his four-year contract, has been an oft-speculated trade candidate. Trading him would trim $13MM from the payroll and perhaps create the flexibility needed to pursue a reunion with Yates or Robertson — while also leaving some CBT breathing room for in-season trade activity. Moving Gray would naturally thin out the rotation depth, but any of Dane Dunning, Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter or non-roster invitee Adrian Houser could step up to join Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle and Cody Bradford on the starting staff.

For the time being, it looks like Martin could be the top choice in the ninth inning, but that’ll be left up to manager Bruce Bochy, Fenstermaker emphasized. The GM voiced confidence that Martin could fill the role and acknowledged that he’s in the “candidate pool” but added that the situation will “sort itself out” in the weeks/months ahead. As things stand, RosterResource projects the Rangers about $6MM shy of the $241MM luxury-tax threshold.

Rangers Sign Chris Martin

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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.

Rangers Interested In Chris Martin

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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 Arlington native Chris Martin.  The veteran reliever said in September that he is “95%” certain that 2025 will be his last season, and since Martin is thought to be prioritizing teams closer to his home in Texas, a return to the Rangers would make a lot of logical sense for both sides.

Though Martin turns 39 in June and is likely entering his farewell season, his recent results indicate that the right-hander has plenty left in the tank.  Martin posted a 3.45 ERA in 44 1/3 innings for the Red Sox last season, with a 2.43 SIERA that is more reflective his performance level.  His ability to generate grounders (46.3% 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 baseball’s best control pitchers, Martin’s 1.7% walk rate in 2024 was the lowest of any hurler with at least 40 innings pitched.  Perhaps the only question mark clouding Martin last year was his health, as he had three different trips to the 15-day injured list due to anxiety, right elbow inflammation, and an issue with his left shoulder.

Martin is a late bloomer who 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 Yankees in 2014-15, he went to Japan and posted outstanding numbers over the next two seasons with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

This success led to a two-year, $4MM deal with the Rangers during the 2016-17 offseason, as Martin made his return to North American baseball pitching for his hometown team.  The stint in Texas saw Martin show flashes of his future self, and his success early in the 2019 season led Atlanta to swing a deal for him at the 2019 trade deadline.  Over five years later, Martin could now be considering a return to Arlington with a World Series ring (with the 2021 Braves) and $34MM more in career earnings in tow, as well as an earned reputation as a steady high-leverage reliever.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young told Grant and other reporters that “the bullpen is the primary focus” for the team in the remainder of the offseason and during the season, and Texas has gotten a start on that work already his winter.  Robert Garcia, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong, and Hoby Milner have all been acquired to date, but a more proven late-innings reliever like Martin would greatly stabilize things.  Kirby Yates and A.J. Minter are two of the other still-unsigned relievers linked to the Rangers on the rumor mill this offseason.

Blue Jays Interested In Several Free Agent Relievers

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The Blue Jays had one of baseball’s worst bullpens in 2024, as injuries and under-performance wreaked havoc on what was a solid relief corps as recently as the 2023 campaign.  Toronto’s steps to overhaul the pen have thus far been more focused on subtraction than addition, as the Jays have parted ways with the likes of former closer Jordan Romano, Genesis Cabrera, and Dillon Tate.

While the Juan Soto pursuit has dominated the Jays-related headlines this winter, the club has been actively linked to many players, as has been the standard operating procedure for Ross Atkins during his time as Toronto’s GM.  This includes multiple relief arms, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi report that the Jays “have shown some level of interest” in Carlos Estevez, Kenley Jansen, Andrew Kittredge, Chris Martin, Phil Maton, A.J. Minter, and Paul Sewald.  ESPN’s Jorge Castillo adds that Toronto is also one of the many teams interested in Jonathan Loaisiga.

Davidi and BNS note that the Guardians have shown some interest in some of Toronto’s minor league prospects, leading to some speculation that the Jays could look to bring in local product Josh Naylor, who is known to be available in trade talks.  Speculatively, the Toronto/Cleveland connection might also be related to the Blue Jays’ bullpen search, as the Guards are very deep in relief pitching.

The sheer volume of names under consideration isn’t really all that unusual, considering how most teams take a broad view of the ever-shifting bullpen market.  As Davidi and Nicholson-Smith note, the Jays have rarely invested much in relief pitching during Atkins’ tenure, and most of the relievers listed would likely be available on shorter-term deals.  Turning to MLBTR’s ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, Estevez (22nd, projected for three-year, $27MM contract), Minter (34th, two years/$16MM), and Kittredge (40th, two years/$14MM) were the only ones to make the list.

Going beyond their usual comfort zone to sign Estevez might reflect the Blue Jays’ greater need for bullpen help, as non-tendering Romano left a big vacancy in the closer’s role.  Chad Green looks like the favorite for saves at the moment, but signing Estevez would push Green back to a setup job and create a clearer bullpen hierarchy.

Jansen, of course, is far and away the most established closer of the group, with 447 saves over his standout 15-year career.  Though Jansen is entering his age-37 season, he is coming off yet another strong performance in posting a 3.29 ERA and 27 saves over 54 2/3 innings with the Red Sox in 2024.

Sewald had seemingly established himself as a solid closer with the Mariners and then the Diamondbacks, and even got off to a hot start in 2024 before running into injuries and a very rough stretch that cost him his ninth-inning role in Arizona.  Better health and a change of scenery could very well spark a return to form for Sewald, making him perhaps a bit of an underrated candidate for teams in need of saves.

Free Agent Notes: Stratton, Martin, Hill, De Jesus

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The Pirates have non-tendered Hunter Stratton in each of the last two offseasons, and after re-signing him to a minor league contract last winter, a team source tells Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the Bucs want to do the same this time around.  Stratton suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in late August after a freak injury that saw the right-hander stumble into the stone wall behind home plate at PNC Park while pursuing a loose ball.

A subsequent knee surgery ended Stratton’s season, and he was given a recovery timeline of 7-10 months.  In the very best-case scenario, Stratton would be able to return on Opening Day, but the longer end of that timeline would keep him out until the end of June.  A clearer return date might emerge once Stratton gets deeper into his rehab, which also might impact when the Pirates or any other team might ink him to a new contract.  Stratton has a 3.26 ERA over 49 2/3 career bullpen innings over the last two seasons with Pittsburgh, with an impressive 4.9% walk rate and excellent soft-contact numbers.

More notes on some other players on the open market….

  • Chris Martin has suggested that 2025 will almost certainly be the final season of his career, and MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam believes Martin “likely looking to pitch closer to his Texas home.”  The 38-year-old Martin has spoken about his desire to spend more time with his growing family, so this could factor more into his decision-making process than necessarily chasing the biggest offers available.  Martin was born in Arlington and already pitched with his hometown Rangers during the 2017-18 seasons, and naturally the Astros would also be a logical destination if geography is Martin’s chief concern.  Martin figures to draw a lot of attention from teams all over the map, as he posted a 3.45 ERA and an elite 1.7% walk rate in 44 1/3 innings for the Red Sox in 2024.
  • Speaking of pitching close to home, Rich Hill told MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (X link) that he is open to pitching anywhere as he weighs whether or not to return for a 21st Major League season.  Hill lives in the greater Boston area and he pitched for the Red Sox in 2024, though the locale didn’t directly factor into Hill’s decision to join the Sox for the fourth different time in his career.  Hill’s desire to coach his son’s Little League team did impact his strategy of waiting until the second half of the 2024 season to sign, as he only landed a minors deal with the Sox in August.  When discussing his future plans earlier this month, Hill hinted that he would likely pursue a full-season schedule this time, though he hadn’t yet decided if he was going to pitch into his age-45 campaign.
  • Also from Morosi in another X entry, left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus is drawing interest from two unnamed Major League teams.  De Jesus posted a 3.68 ERA, 24.45% strikeout rate, and 6.04% walk rate over 171 1/3 innings with the KBO League’s Kiwoom Heroes in 2024, but the Heroes won’t be offering him a new contract for the coming KBO season.  The southpaw has a 4.01 ERA across 749 1/3 career innings and nine seasons in the affiliated minors, mostly with the Red Sox before pitching in the Giants organization in 2022 and the Marlins organization in 2023.  De Jesus’ only MLB experience came with Miami during that 2023 season, as he pitched 6 1/3 innings over two appearances and was hit hard for an 11.57 ERA.  While De Jesus worked more as a swingman in 2021-22, he has largely pitched as a starter throughout his career, including starting all 30 of his games with the Heroes.  A return to the KBO League with another team might be in the cards if De Jesus strictly wanted to start, or he could be open to a variety of roles if he is pursuing a path back to North American baseball.

Chris Martin Expects 2025 To Be His Final Season

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Veteran reliever Chris Martin turned 38 in June and is a free agent at season’s end, but the Red Sox righty tells MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith that he still intends to play in 2025. Next year, however, will “95%” be his final season, per Martin himself. The towering 6’8″ righty discusses the decision at length in an interview with Smith that fans will want to read in full for a wide slate of candid quotes. Broadly, Martin cites a growing family — his wife is pregnant with their fourth child — and the increasing toll the game can take on one’s physical and mental health in the latter stages of a career for his plan to wrap things up after the ’25 campaign.

Martin has had separate IL stints in 2024 for a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury, right elbow inflammation and anxiety. He’s been effective when on the mound, posting a 3.35 ERA in 40 1/3 innings. As is typical for the big righty, he’s missed bats at an above-average level and shown off perhaps the best command in all of Major League Baseball. Martin has punched out 28.8% of his opponents and issued walks at a microscopic 1.2% clip. That’s a sensational mark even by his own lofty standards, but Martin’s career 3.2% walk rate (and 2.7% mark since 2021) has long illustrated his elite ability to locate the ball.

While Martin has lost a mile per hour off his four-seamer this season amid those injuries, he’s still checking it an average of 94.7 mph with the pitch. The slightly reduced fastball hasn’t adversely impacted him all that much; his 11% swinging-strike rate is right in line with last season’s mark, and his opponents’ 79.7% contact rate is down ever so slightly from last year’s 80% mark. If anything, his four-seamer has been more effective this year. Opponents hit .313 off the pitch and slugged .521 against it last year. Those marks are down to .241 and .389 in 2024. Martin’s sinker has been hammered by opponents this season, and he’s begun to throw it less frequently as a result (8.7% in ’24 compared to 15% in ’23). That’s contributed to a dip in ground-ball rate (51% last year, 44% this year), but the overall blend of whiffs, command and grounders remains an effective package for the nine-year big league veteran.

Notably, Martin didn’t address whether that final season would come with the Red Sox or with another club. It’d be a surprise if the Sox didn’t want him back, given how well he’s pitched under his current two-year, $17.5MM deal. He’s delivered 91 2/3 innings of 2.06 ERA ball with plus strikeout and walk rates — all while piling up 37 holds and five saves along the way.

There will, of course, be widespread interest in Martin — as one would expect based on his overall track record. He’s rattled off six straight seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA and twice posted sub-2.00 marks in that stretch. Overall, Martin has a 2.79 earned run average, 83 holds and 13 saves dating back to 2019. Given his age and current plans to call it a career after the 2025 season, one would imagine he’ll prioritize signing with a contender in hopes of adding a second World Series ring to match the one he earned with the 2021 Braves.

[Related: 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List]

Martin will have plenty of competition on the relief market, but the fact that he’ll presumably limit himself to one-year offers should create a wide array of suitors. He’ll be one of the top leverage relievers on the market. Names like David Robertson, A.J. Minter, Yimi Garcia, Andrew Kittredge and Tommy Kahnle (to name a few) have had nice seasons working primarily in a setup capacity. Kirby Yates, Carlos Estevez, Clay Holmes, Aroldis Chapman and teammate Kenley Jansen are among the impending free agents who’ve spent a notable portion of the 2024 season working as a closer.

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