Reliever Chris Martin is in agreement on a one-year contract to return to the Rangers, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The club has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a physical.
Martin, who will be entering his age-40 season in 2026, continues to defy time. While he has had injury issues that have limited him, particularly the past two seasons, the right-hander turned in a 2.60 ERA from 2022-25.
At 6-foot-8, Martin is an imposing presence on the mound. He features a four-seam fastball that averaged 94.7 mph last season, along with a cutter, splitter, sinker and sweeper. It’s been quite a journey for the veteran reliever, who was originally drafted by the Rockies all the way back in 2005. He suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder and was out of baseball entirely until 2010, when he attempted a comeback with an independent league team in Grand Prairie, Texas.
In 2011, the Red Sox signed Martin but traded him to the Rockies prior to the 2014 campaign. It was that year that he made his MLB debut with Colorado. After struggling with the Rockies that season and with the Yankees in 2015, Martin kept his professional baseball career alive in Japan, where he found great success from 2016-17 with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Martin’s hometown team, the Rangers, signed him prior to the 2018 campaign. Since then, he’s proven to be very effective -- over the past eight seasons, he pitched to a 3.04 ERA in 352 2/3 innings for the Rangers, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers and Red Sox. He spent last season back with Texas, posting a 2.98 ERA over 49 appearances.