Veteran reliever Chris Martin turned 38 in June and is a free agent at season’s finish, however the Crimson Sox righty tells MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith that he nonetheless intends to play in 2025. Subsequent 12 months, nonetheless, will “95%” be his last season, per Martin himself. The towering 6’8″ righty discusses the choice at size in an interview with Smith that followers will wish to learn in full for a large slate of candid quotes. Broadly, Martin cites a rising household — his spouse is pregnant with their fourth youngster — and the rising toll the sport can tackle one’s bodily and psychological well being within the latter phases of a profession for his plan to wrap issues up after the ’25 marketing campaign.
Martin has had separate IL stints in 2024 for a left (non-throwing) shoulder damage, proper elbow irritation and anxiousness. He’s been efficient when on the mound, posting a 3.35 ERA in 40 1/3 innings. As is typical for the massive righty, he’s missed bats at an above-average degree and proven off maybe one of the best command in all of Main 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 personal lofty requirements, however Martin’s profession 3.2% stroll price (and a pair of.7% mark since 2021) has lengthy illustrated his elite skill to find the ball.
Whereas Martin has misplaced a mile per hour off his four-seamer this season amid these accidents, he’s nonetheless checking it a mean of 94.7 mph with the pitch. The marginally decreased fastball hasn’t adversely impacted him all that a lot; his 11% swinging-strike price is correct in keeping with final season’s mark, and his opponents’ 79.7% contact price is down ever so barely from final 12 months’s 80% mark. If something, his four-seamer has been more practical this 12 months. Opponents hit .313 off the pitch and slugged .521 towards it final 12 months. These marks are all the way down to .241 and .389 in 2024. Martin’s sinker has been hammered by opponents this season, and he’s begun to throw it much less continuously consequently (8.7% in ’24 in comparison with 15% in ’23). That’s contributed to a dip in ground-ball price (51% final 12 months, 44% this 12 months), however the total mix of whiffs, command and grounders stays an efficient package deal for the nine-year large league veteran.
Notably, Martin didn’t handle whether or not that last season would include the Crimson Sox or with one other membership. It’d be a shock if the Sox didn’t need him again, given how nicely he’s pitched underneath his present two-year, $17.5MM deal. He’s delivered 91 2/3 innings of two.06 ERA ball with plus strikeout and stroll charges — all whereas piling up 37 holds and 5 saves alongside the way in which.
There’ll, after all, be widespread curiosity in Martin — as one would count on primarily based on his total monitor file. He’s rattled off six straight seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA and twice posted sub-2.00 marks in that stretch. Total, Martin has a 2.79 earned run common, 83 holds and 13 saves relationship again to 2019. Given his age and present plans to name it a profession after the 2025 season, one would think about he’ll prioritize signing with a contender in hopes of including a second World Sequence ring to match the one he earned with the 2021 Braves.
[Related: 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List]
Martin can have loads of competitors on the reduction market, however the truth that he’ll presumably restrict himself to one-year gives ought to create a wide selection of suitors. He’ll be one of many high leverage relievers available on the market. Names like David Robertson, A.J. Minter, Yimi Garcia, Andrew Kittredge and Tommy Kahnle (to call a number of) have had good seasons working primarily in a setup capability. Kirby Yates, Carlos Estevez, Clay Holmes, Aroldis Chapman and teammate Kenley Jansen are among the many impending free brokers who’ve spent a notable portion of the 2024 season working as a better.
