January 7: According to FanSided’s Robert Murray, Martin’s contract with the Rangers guarantees him $5.5MM. Murray added that Martin turned down offers of more money from other clubs and returned to his hometown club for the final season of his career. WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox were the team to make the bigger offer.
January 6: Rangers announce signing of veteran reliever Chris Martin A one-year agreement was reached. Financial terms remain unreported. Martin is represented by ISE Baseball. Texas designation Matt Festa Assigned to open 40-man roster spot.
Martin, an Arlington native, will return home for his final season. The 38-year-old right-hander said in September that he was 95 percent confident he would retire after 2025. Martin is still a capable high-leverage arm and is coming off two strong years in Boston.
The Red Sox signed Martin to a free agent contract worth $17.5MM during the 2022-23 offseason. It was a bit of a gamble considering his age, but the nine-year MLB veteran made good on the investment in one season. In 2023, Martin posted a dizzying 1.05 ERA in 51 1/3 innings.
Last season was even better than Dominion. Martin pitched 44 1/3 innings and had a 3.45 ERA. In mid-June, he was briefly injured due to anxiety. Martin also missed a month with elbow inflammation from early July to the first week of August. He went 10 innings, earning just one run over the next few weeks, then allowed six runs in eight games in September.
Martin almost certainly won’t hold an ERA around 1.00 for consecutive seasons. His strikeout and walk numbers actually improved last year. In 2023, his strikeout rate was 23.1%, while he fanned 27.8% of batters. He is arguably the best prospect in the major leagues. No pitcher with at least 100 innings over the past three seasons has a lower walk rate than Martin (2.6 percent).
In two seasons with the Red Sox, Martin posted a 2.16 ERA in 95 1/3 innings. He has found success at every stop since returning from Japan in 2016-17. That includes previous runs in Texas. The Rangers were the team that gave Martin a chance in the 2017-18 offseason. He totaled 79 2/3 innings with a 3.84 ERA before being traded to the Braves at the 2019 deadline.
Texas has added short-term additions to repair a bullpen that could lose everyone. Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Jose Urena. They have already signed Sean Armstrong, Jacob Weber and Hobey Milner One-year contract worth $2.5MM or less. Texas also brings in left-handers Robert Garcia from washington in Nathaniel Lowe trading. While Martin’s financial status has not been reported, it’s fair to assume he will be the most expensive player of Chris Young’s bullpen acquisition to date. However, the negative impact of the one-year agreement is limited.
Martin is the most experienced of the Texas relievers. He has maintained a reserve role throughout his career and has never saved more than four games in a season. It’s unclear if the Rangers plan to shut him down or use him in a leverage position. Yates and Robertson have more experience as a closer and are still free agents. Regardless of the role, Martin adds much-needed stability to the bullpen, which may remain the team’s biggest problem.
Texas signed Festa, 31, to a minor league contract last season. The Rangers optioned his contract in August. He made 18 appearances over the final six weeks, posting a 4.37 ERA in 22 2/3 innings. The right-hander briefly appeared with the Mets earlier this year. He spent most of his career with the Mariners, where he had a 4.32 ERA in 89 games over four seasons. Texas will have five days to trade Festa or waive him.
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