Chris Martin

Quick Hits: Astros, Blue Jays, Martin, Robertson, Suarez, Giants, Pirates

By Mark Polishuk | November 12, 2022 at 10:39pm CDT

The Astros are making a pair of in-house promotions, as FOX 26’s Mark Berman reports (via Twitter) that Charles Cook and Bill Firkus are each being promoted to assistant general manager. Cook was the senior director of player evaluation and has been a member of the organization since 2016, while Firkus has been with the Astros since 2013, taking a unique path to the assistant GM role. Firkus began with the team as a medical analyst and then worked as the Astros’ director of sports medicine and performance from 2015-19 before moving into his job as the senior director of baseball strategy.

Firkus and fellow assistant GM Andrew Ball are also now temporarily running Houston’s front office until a replacement for James Click can be found, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Under Click, the Astros had two AGMs in Ball and Scott Powers, though Powers was fired yesterday shortly after news broke that Click wouldn’t be returning as the general manager. It is possible that the promotions of two long-time employees in Cook and Firkus might be a step towards also ousting Ball, who previously worked with Click in Tampa Bay and has only been with the Astros organization for less than a year. Regardless, there will continue to be plenty of controversy surrounding the World Series champions’ front office until a new president of baseball operations or GM is officially hired. [UPDATE: Firkus is the Astros’ current point person for any free agent talks, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi]

Dodgers Remove Craig Kimbrel From Closer Role

By Anthony Franco | September 23, 2022 at 10:59pm CDT

The Dodgers are going to take a closer-by-comittee approach for the remainder of the regular season, manager Dave Roberts informed reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). Craig Kimbrel will pitch in different roles while the club takes a variable approach to the ninth inning based on matchups.

Roberts didn’t guarantee he’d stick with the committee approach through the playoffs, although it’s hard to envision the Dodgers removing Kimbrel from the closing role for the final 12 regular season games before reinstalling him in the ninth at the start of the postseason. The decision comes in the wake of a dip in production for the eight-time All-Star, who has surrendered runs in three of his last four outings. That includes a game-tying homer to Christian Walker to blow a save opportunity yesterday against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning anyhow, but the blown lead finalized the team’s decision to take a more flexible approach with the playoffs on the horizon.

Kimbrel is in his first season as a Dodger. Acquired from the White Sox in a surprising one-for-one swap with AJ Pollock just before Opening Day, he’s made 57 appearances. Kimbrel certainly hasn’t been disastrous. He owns a 4.14 ERA across 54 1/3 innings, striking out an above-average 27.2% of opponents. His 9.6% walk rate is a bit higher than the league mark but not an untenable figure. He has successfully closed out 22 of his 27 save attempts. The right-hander’s overall production has been fine if unspectacular.

Nevertheless, Kimbrel clearly hasn’t performed at the level at which the Dodgers were hoping. The 34-year-old was arguably the best reliever in the game through last season’s first half with the Cubs. While he disappointed following a deadline trade to the White Sox — largely due to home run troubles — he still generated whiffs on an excellent 17.2% of his offerings with the South Siders. That led to some hope Kimbrel could continue pitching at an elite level in a new environment, but this season’s 12.1% swinging strike rate is only a bit better than average.

Taking Kimbrel out of the ninth inning should allow Roberts to be more judicious with his usage once the postseason arrives. Maximizing his work against right-handed hitters figures to be a priority. Kimbrel has held same-handed batters to a .208/.296/.307 line across 115 plate appearances this season; lefties, on the other hand, have managed a much more robust .266/.355/.431 showing in 124 trips.

The White Sox picked up a $16MM option on Kimbrel for this season before trading him to L.A. He’s in the final few weeks of that deal and will hit free agency for the second time in his career this offseason. In the interim, he’ll remain part of one of the game’s top relief corps.

That the Dodgers feel equipped to take the career-long closer out of the ninth inning is a testament to the strength of the remainder of their bullpen. Los Angeles enters play Friday with the majors’ second-lowest bullpen ERA (2.94) and fourth-best strikeout percentage (26.5%). Evan Phillips, a waiver claim from the Rays last August, almost immediately emerged as one of the best relievers in the game. The slider specialist has a 1.24 ERA with a 31.8% strikeout rate over 58 innings during his breakout campaign. Flamethrowing sinkerballer Brusdar Graterol has ridden a massive 63.5% ground-ball percentage to a 2.96 ERA. Deadline acqusition Chris Martin has a 1.71 mark with a laughable 26:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio since landing in Los Angeles. Southpaw Alex Vesia has the bullpen’s best strikeout rate (34.6%) and a 2.24 ERA in 51 2/3 frames.

That quartet looks likeliest to assume the highest-leverage work in the playoffs. Roberts can also call upon Kimbrel, Phil Bickford and Tommy Kahnle from the right side, while Caleb Ferguson and the rehabbing David Price are left-handed options. Yency Almonte has had a nice season of his own and is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and there’s still a possibility of Blake Treinen making a playoff return (although Treinen is currently on the injured list and continues to battle shoulder discomfort).

Cubs, Dodgers Swap Chris Martin For Zach McKinstry

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2022 at 1:45pm CDT

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).

Bullpen Rumors: Robertson, Cubs, Rays, Tigers, Dodgers

By Steve Adams | July 27, 2022 at 2:08pm CDT

Cubs closer David Robertson is among the most popular names on the trade market for relievers, and both New York clubs have interest in bringing him aboard. The Yankees, who’ve enjoyed two separate stints from Robertson in the past, are interested in another reunion with the 37-year-old righty, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Davidoff’s colleague Mike Puma, meanwhile, writes that the Mets are intrigued by Robertson in part because of how effective he’s been against left-handers this season. The Mets don’t have a reliable southpaw option at the moment and there that many quality lefty relievers available, so Robertson’s lack of a platoon split is an understandably appealing trait. FanSided’s Robert Murray writes that the Mets “love” Robertson. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that the Rays were among the teams evaluating the Cubs’ relievers.

Through 39 1/3 innings this season, Robertson has pitched to a 1.83 ERA with 14 saves and a big 31.4% strikeout rate — albeit with a bloated 11.9% walk rate. He’s earning just a $3.5MM base salary, though performance bonuses figure to take that number as high as $5.1MM. The majority of contending clubs figure to check in not only on Robertson but on Cubs righties Mychal Givens and Chris Martin, both of whom are free agents at season’s end. Murray notes that Givens has also been drawing strong interest around the league.

A few more notes on the market for relievers…

The Tigers are receiving trade interest on lefty Andrew Chafin and righties Michael Fulmer, Joe Jimenez and Alex Lange, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. McCosky spoke with both Fulmer and Jimenez about the complex emotions of potentially being traded away from the organization they’ve both called home for nearly their entire careers (or, in Jimenez’s case, for his entire pro career). It’s been apparent for some time now that Detroit’s slate of solid bullpen arms would hold major appeal to contending clubs at the deadline, and Fulmer and Chafin seem especially likely to go, given that they’ll both be eligible for free agency at season’s end. (Chafin has a $6.5MM player option.) Jimenez, controlled through 2023, stands a decent chance of being moved as well, but it’d be hard to part with Lange, whom the Tigers can control all the way through 2027. That said, Detroit is reportedly willing to listen on just about anyone, including lefty Tarik Skubal.
Dodgers righty Blake Treinen is taking longer to return than originally anticipated, though manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Treinen has not experienced a setback (Twitter link via Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Treinen pitched a bullpen session yesterday but won’t face live hitters for a couple weeks still, which makes a late-August or early-September return likely. Robert said back in May that the organization hoped Treinen, who hasn’t pitched since April due to a shoulder injury, was targeting a return not long after the All-Star break. Treinen is joined on the injured list by Daniel Hudson, Tommy Kahnle, Brusdar Graterol and Victor Gonzalez, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Los Angeles pursue some bullpen upgrades before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Cubs’ Ian Happ Drawing Significant Trade Interest

By Steve Adams | July 26, 2022 at 8:44am CDT

Willson Contreras generates the most public speculation among Cubs trade candidates with the deadline a week away, but teammate outfielder Ian Happ has emerged as one of the more in-demand names on the summer market, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. That’s particularly notable when paired with Happ’s recent acknowledgment that the team has not approached him about a contract extension (link via Patrick Mooney of The Athletic).

Happ is “likely” to be traded within the next week, Passan writes, adding that some interested parties have approached the Cubs about package deals that would see one of Contreras or Happ traded alongside a reliever such as David Robertson or Mychal Givens. (Passan doesn’t specifically mention righty Chris Martin, though as a pending free agent, he’s surely available as well.) More interestingly, Dennis Lin of The Athletic wrote over the weekend that the Padres have expressed interest in adding both Contreras and Happ in the same trade, though the ask on that would surely be immense.

MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored Happ’s career-best production earlier this month, observing that notable gains in Happ’s plate discipline profile have generated the strongest and most sustainable results of his six big league seasons. Happ has always drawn walks at a high clip, but his penchant for strikeouts has often suppressed his overall value at the plate.

Most notably, as Anthony wrote at the time, Happ has wildly improved upon his contact rates in 2022. His 62.6% contact rate on pitches off the plate is up ten full percentage points from 2021, and his 83.7% contact rate in pitches in the zone is up from 79.9% a year ago. Happ’s 75.9% overall contact rate is less than one percentage point below the league average. That may not sound all that impressive, but pair roughly average contact skills with Happ’s high-end walk rate (10.9%), above-average power and above-average speed, and Happ looks like an increasingly well-rounded player. The switch-hitting Happ has also posted substantially better numbers as a right-handed hitter this season than in years past, and while part of that is due to a sky-high .463 BABIP as a righty, he’s also cut his strikeout rate against left-handers by about six percentage points this year (down to 25.1%).

Defensively, opinions on Happ are going to be a bit more mixed. After bouncing around the diamond more earlier in his career, he’s settled in as Chicago’s left fielder this season, which is his best position. He’s logged 706 of his 718 defensive frames in left this season, with the other 12 coming via a few brief cameos in center. He’s been a scratch defender in 2022, per Statcast’s Outs Above Average, although both Defensive Runs Saved (+5) and Ultimate Zone Rating (+3.9) feel he’s been above-average.

It’s easy enough to see why Happ’s overall skill set would make him an appealing trade chip. He’s at least a solid defender in left — and a balanced switch-hitter with aa .282/.367/.445 batting line in 387 trips to the plate so far this season. His home run power hasn’t been up to previous levels — his nine long balls put him shy of pace to match last year’s career-high 25 — but Happ has already connected on a career-best 24 doubles and tacked on a couple of triples for good measure. Of even greater appeal, however, is the fact that Happ is controlled for an additional season beyond the current campaign.

Assuming Happ is indeed traded, whichever club acquires him can pencil him into left field both for the current postseason push and the entirety of the 2023 season. He’s earning $6.9MM this season and shouldn’t command much more than $10MM in 2023, which makes him affordable for the majority of clubs around the league. Happ also won’t even turn 28 until next month, meaning the former No. 9 overall draft pick is squarely in the typical prime of a hitter’s career.

Whether the Cubs will ultimately pursue the package offers reported by Passan or instead attempt to engineer standalone trades for all of their chips, of course, is entirely dependent on the strength of offers they receive. However, virtually every contender is looking to deepen its bullpen, so it’s only natural to think that a team with interest in Happ would take a two-birds-with-one-stone approach. Each of Robertson, Givens and Martin will be a free agent at season’s end, and each is in the midst of a fine season.

Robertson has drawn the most attention among Cubs relievers in early speculation — as is often the case for those in the vaunted closer role — thanks in large part to a pristine 1.83 ERA and 14 saves on the season. He’s earning a $3.5MM base salary, though he’s on pace to reach all of his incentives (including a $100K trade bonus), which would bring his total salary up to $5.1MM. Still, for a pitcher with his track record and a 31.4% strikeout rate, that’s a reasonable price to pay — even if this year’s 11.9% walk rate is a bit concerning.

The 32-year-old Givens is also earning $3.5MM, but his contract contains $1.25MM of incentives and a $1.5MM buyout on next year’s mutual option, so his ultimate price tag will fall more in the $5.5MM to $6MM range. He’s pitched a 2.79 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout rate and a similarly elevated 11.5% walk rate. Like Robertson, Givens has a long track record as a solid late-inning reliever with roots in the AL East (Orioles).

As for the 36-year-old Martin, his ERA has swelled to 4.50 after yielding five runs through his past 3 2/3 innings, but even looking past that recent slump, he’s touting a brilliant 37-to-4 K/BB ratio in 30 innings so far in 2022. He’s on a $2.5MM salary and probably won’t get the 60 appearances he needs to max out his incentives, but he’s likely to unlock either $400K or $500K of the available bonuses on his incentive-laden contract before becoming a free agent at season’s end.

Cubs Designate Clint Frazier For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | June 10, 2022 at 4:15pm CDT

The Cubs announced a series of roster moves to reporters, including Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Lefty Wade Miley, catcher Yan Gomes and infielder Jonathan Villar have all been reinstated from the injured list, while righty Chris Martin has been reinstated from the restricted list, which he joined after being on the bereavement list beyond the seven-day minimum. To make room for those four players, righty Marcus Stroman was placed on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation, first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas and righty Michael Rucker have been optioned, while outfielder Clint Frazier has been designated for assignment. The DFA of Frazier opens a spot on both the active and 40-man rosters for Martin.

Selected fifth overall by Cleveland in the 2013 draft, Frazier was a highly-touted prospect as he rose through the minors, eventually headlining the Yankees’ return when they traded Andrew Miller at the 2016 deadline. Frazier showed plenty of signs of his potential while wearing pinstripes, especially in 2020. During that pandemic-shortened season, he played 39 games and hit a tremendous .267/.394/.511 for a wRC+ of 149. Unfortunately, he underwent a miserable 2021 campaign where he hit just .186/.317/.317, 82 wRC+, and didn’t play after July due to vertigo-like symptoms.

After the season, the Yankees designated him for assignment, with Frazier then signing with the Cubs. The one-year contract came with a $1.5MM base salary and $1MM of incentives, though the Cubs would also be able to keep him around for another couple of seasons through arbitration. However, it now seems they are moving on after just a couple of months.

Frazier missed some time this year due to appendicitis and has only gotten into 19 games on the year so far. In that time, he’s hit .216/.356/.297. That unbalanced line is thanks to a 15.6% walk rate but no home runs on the year. All told, that adds up to a wRC+ of 95, which is 5% below league average but hardly disastrous. Given that he’s still just 27 years old and comes with prospect pedigree and a track record of some MLB success, he’s sure to find another opportunity elsewhere. The Cubs will have a week to work out a trade or put him on waivers.

Injury Notes: Strasburg, Adrianza, Cobb, Mills

By Anthony Franco | June 7, 2022 at 10:06pm CDT

The Nationals will welcome back Stephen Strasburg for his season debut on Thursday, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jessica Camerato of MLB.com). The three-time All-Star is back after making a trio of minor league rehab starts, and Thursday’s outing will be his first MLB appearance in a bit more than a calendar year. Strasburg last took a big league mound at Atlanta’s Truist Park on June 1, 2021, an appearance he left with neck irritation. A little less than two months later, he underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, and he missed the first couple months of this season continuing his rehab from that procedure.

The 2019 World Series MVP has made just seven MLB starts since signing a seven-year, $245MM contract the offseason after the Nationals’ World Series title. Strasburg is making $35MM annually through 2026, an investment that looks regrettable in light of his recent health woes. The Nats are desperate for rotation help, though, and they’d welcome anything close to Strasburg’s pre-2020 form. Each of Patrick Corbin, Joan Adon, Josiah Gray and Erick Fedde has an ERA of 4.71 or higher thus far.

Strasburg makes his season debut a couple days after infielder Ehire Adrianza, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list before today’s game. The Nats already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, and Lucius Fox was optioned out in a corresponding move. Adrianza signed a $1.5MM deal over the winter but suffered a Spring Training quad strain that cost him the first couple months of the season. The switch-hitting utiltiyman had a .247/.327/.401 showing as a part-time player for the Braves last year.

The latest on some other injury situations around the game:

The Giants placed starter Alex Cobb on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 4, with a neck strain. San Francisco recalled Sam Long to take the veteran righty’s spot on the active roster. It doesn’t seem the organization’s particularly concerned about Cobb’s status, as manager Gabe Kapler told reporters the team is hopeful he can return when first eligible for next weekend’s series in Pittsburgh (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic). Signed to a two-year, $20MM guarantee over the offseason, Cobb has had a strange first season in the Bay Area. He owns career-best marks in both strikeout percentage (28.7%) and ground-ball rate (65.4%), but he’s nevertheless posted a 5.73 ERA through his first eight starts.
Alec Mills made his season debut this evening, as the Cubs reinstated him from the 60-day injured list before tonight’s matchup against the Orioles. Chicago had a temporary extra 40-man roster spot after placing reliever Chris Martin on the restricted list over the weekend. Martin has been on bereavement leave for more than the allotted seven days, and he won’t count against the 40-man roster for any additional time he needs to spend away from the team. Mills tossed 119 innings for the Cubs last season, working to a 5.07 ERA while starting 20 of his 32 appearances. The 30-year-old doesn’t throw hard or miss many bats, but he fills up the strike zone and induced grounders on a bit more than half of batted balls last year. He missed the first two months of the season with a lower back strain.

Cubs Place Brad Wieck On 60-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | March 17, 2022 at 2:50pm CDT

The Cubs announced that left-hander Brad Wieck has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to a left elbow strain. The placement creates a 40-man roster spot for Chris Martin, whose one-year deal with the Cubs is now official.

While Martin’s signing is one of several pitching additions made by the Cubs within the last week, the loss of Wieck for 60 days is a significant blow to the relief corps. According to multiple reporters (including The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro), Wieck’s elbow problem surfaced while he was throwing a bullpen session earlier this week.

After missing time due to testicular cancer and two separate heart issues over the last three seasons, Wieck has already dealt with more than his share of health concerns during his brief big league career. Wieck has tossed 59 2/3 innings in The Show since his debut with the Padres in 2018, and he came to Chicago in the July 2019 deadline day trade that sent Carl Edwards Jr. to San Diego.

Wieck has racked up plenty of strikeouts (35.9% K-rate) during his career, even if his 9.7% walk rate and 15.4% homer rate are both on the high side. Though Wieck walked 10 batters during his 17 innings of work last year, he avoided damage en route to a perfect 0.00 ERA for the 2021 season.

It provided a nice platform heading into the coming campaign, but Wieck will now be sidelined until at least the back half of May. Wieck was penciled in as Chicago’s top left-handed relief option, and the recently-signed Daniel Norris may now take the lead as the first-choice southpaw until Wieck is healthy.

Cubs To Sign Chris Martin

By Darragh McDonald | March 15, 2022 at 11:20am CDT

The Cubs are in agreement with right-hander Chris Martin on a one-year deal, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The deal comes with a $2.5MM guarantee, along with $500K in performance bonuses and a $250K roster bonus. (Twitter links)

Martin, 36 in June, certainly didn’t have a textbook path to the big leagues. For the incredible full story, check out this 2019 piece from Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In short, Martin thought his baseball career was ended by a 2006 shoulder surgery. Years later, while working at Lowe’s and UPS, a game of catch with a friend made him realize that his shoulder no longer caused him pain, putting Martin back on his baseball trajectory.

After getting back on the mound in indy ball, he signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in 2013. After being traded to the Rockies, Martin made his MLB debut in 2014, just a few weeks before his 28th birthday. He didn’t especially impress with the Rockies that year or with the Yankees in 2015, but went over to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league and excelled over the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

He came back to North America in 2018, signing a two-year deal with the Rangers. After a decent first year in Texas, 2019 was a tremendous breakout for him, as he threw 55 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.40, strikeout rate of 30.1% and walk rate of just 2.3%.

The Braves, who had acquired Martin from the Rangers midway through that season, signed Martin to a two-year, $14MM contract prior to the 2020 season. He largely maintained his strikeout and walk rates that year, at 30.3% and 4.5%, but had his ERA plummet to an even 1.00 in the small sample of 18 innings.

Things didn’t go so smooth for Martin in 2021, however, as some injuries seemed to limit his effectiveness. In 43 1/3 innings, he still kept his walk rate incredibly low at 3.3%, but his strikeout rate plummeted all the way down to 18.2%. Despite that, he still managed to keep his ERA at a reasonable 3.95 level for the year.

He didn’t crack the club’s roster for the NLDS but was added for the NLCS and ended up throwing 4 1/3 innings in the postseason, continuing to find success without racking up strikeouts. His ERA was 2.08 in that small sample, with a strikeout rate of 17.6%, and not a single walk, helping the club win the World Series.

For the Cubs, their big fire sale at last year’s deadline involved Craig Kimbrel, Ryan Tepera and Andrew Chafin heading out of town. The bullpen took another hit recently when Codi Heuer underwent Tommy John surgery. That left Rowan Wick and Brad Wieck as the only projected members of the bullpen with more than one year of MLB service time. With the recent additions of Jesse Chavez and now Martin, they’ve bolstered their young relief corps with some veteran presence.

Braves Add Chris Martin, Johan Camargo To NLCS Roster

By TC Zencka | October 16, 2021 at 10:41am CDT

The Braves enter tonight’s NLCS a little more well-rested than their counterparts from LA. Having finished the Brewers off in four games, the Braves are able to set their rotation as desired with ace Max Fried taking the ball in game one. After that, Charlie Morton and Ian Anderson will be ready for games two and three, though not in that order, as the Braves are giving Morton an additional day of rest to start game three. That also allows Anderson the more favorable home crowd in game two.

On the offensive end, Jorge Soler remains on the COVID-19 list. He could return sometime during this series if he’s cleared, but they’d have to remove Cristian Pache, who took his roster spot in the NLDS, notes The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). The rest of their NLCS roster lays out thusly…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Ian Anderson (game 2 starter)
Jesse Chavez
Luke Jackson
Chris Martin
Charlie Morton (game 3 starter)
Jacob Webb
Huascar Ynoa

Left-Handed Pitchers

Max Fried (Game 1 starter)
Tyler Matzek
A.J. Minter
Will Smith
Drew Smyly

Catchers

William Contreras
Travis d’Arnaud

Infielders

Outfielders

Essentially, the Braves have chosen to swap out Dylan Lee and Terrance Gore in favor of Chris Martin and Johan Camargo. Pache also remains on the roster for the time being, with Soler expected to miss the entire series. The Braves are rolling with just a 12-man pitching staff while keeping six bats on the bench.

In Soler’s spot, Pache will likely be used as a defensive replacement. He could also be used as a pinch-runner now that Gore has been left off. Gore made his first appearance of the season for the Braves in the NLDS, though keeping the speedster on the roster is a bit of a luxury.

In his place, Camargo provides greater flexibility with the glove. Camargo saw his role diminish more than ever this season, stepping to the plate just 18 times without recording a hit during the regular season. The baseball gods surely have primed Camargo for a significant plate appearance at some point during the NLCS.

Lee was a surprising addition to the NLDS roster, and he did not appear against the Brewers. Martin brings much more experience in what’s sure to be a high-pressure series against the Dodgers. Without Lee, the Braves still have the M&Ms Matzek and Minter as southpaws ahead of their lefty closer Smith, as well as Smyly, though the latter is the most likely option to start game four in Los Angeles. Should Smyly come in handy out of the pen early in the series, Ynoa is certainly capable of starting game four in his place.

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