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 is the first reliever the Rangers have reunited with from the 2025 bullpen that had a 3.62 ERA, good for fifth in the Majors, though they are reportedly still interested in names like Shawn Armstrong and Josh Sborz.
Martin was solid for the Rangers in 2025, posting a 2.98 ERA over 49 appearances. That being said, he pitched just 9 2/3 innings in the second half amid a number of IL stints for shoulder fatigue, a pair of calf strains and thoracic outlet syndrome that ultimately ended his year.
It’s unclear if Martin ultimately needed surgery in the offseason.
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.
Martin is the third reliever the Rangers have signed this offseason in an attempt to completely rebuild the rotation for the second winter in a row. He joins Alexis Diaz and Tyler Alexander as “new” additions.
“I feel good about the options that we have right now [in the bullpen], and I think it's our job as the front office is to continue to look to improve it,” said president of baseball operations Chris Young. “We've got some young guys that had some success last year that could slide into the bullpen, and we've signed some veterans that we think have had real Major League success that are going to be added into our bullpen as well. Ultimately, it's an ongoing process, and we’re always looking to continue to improve.”