Potential D-backs Free Agency Target: Chris Martin

The experienced righty reliever could provide some command stability to the D-backs' bullpen.

Aug 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Chris Martin (55) warms up during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

This article is part of a series evaluating potential free agent and trade acquisitions for the Arizona Diamondbacks entering the 2025 season.

We continue our look at the Diamondbacks' bullpen. Despite some flashes of excellence and impressive individual seasons by some D-backs relievers, Arizona's bullpen did rank in the lower end of MLB.

Smart relief additions are always at least worth a look, and it seems likely that general manager Mike Hazen will at least try to swing a move to improve the bullpen. With plenty of free agents floating around the MLB offseason, here's another arm for the D-backs to consider:

RHP Chris Martin - Boston Red Sox

Imposing veteran right-hander Chris Martin had a very solid 2024. Over 45 appearances, Martin pitched to a 3.45 ERA and picked up a pair of saves, while striking batters out at a high rate and battling some poor luck.

He's been quite consistent over the past six seasons, was worth 0.9 fWAR in 2024, and is projected to have another decent year in 2025.

FanGraphs' crowd-sourced estimate expects him to receive a one-year, $7 million deal. Maybe not the cheapest possible deal, but he hasn't shown many signs of decline, and his results are backed up by his overall profile.

At 6-foot-8, 224 pounds, Martin is an intimidating reliever with an impressive arsenal, and could be used in a variety of situations.

Pros

Peripherals

Martin's raw ERA numbers aren't among the best of the best. But a consistent trend in recent years has been solid peripherals. While his ERA has been north of 3.00 in four of his past six seasons, his FIP and expected stats have been excellent, perhaps borderline elite.

In 2024, his ERA was a respectable, though not exceptional 3.45. However his xERA was 3.29, and his FIP was a mere 2.78. On top of that, he was the victim of exceptionally poor batted ball luck, with a .351 BABIP. Despite a high K/9 (10.15), and solid 46.3% ground ball rate, his raw results looked worse, and five of his 22 runs allowed were unearned.

Throughout his career, his ERA has generally been backed up by his peripherals, if not leapfrogged by them. Since 2019, he has an exceptional cumulative ERA of 2.81, and his 2.77 FIP and 2.83 xFIP agree with those results.

In those years, he's maintained an impressive 9.65 K/9, and has limited walks to a brilliant 1.00 BB/9 clip. He consistently throws strikes, keeps hitters guessing and mostly limits hard contact, and that's been a constant throughout his lengthy career.

Zone Command

Martin throws a wide range of pitches. In 2024, his 92 MPH cutter was his primary pitch, but a 94-95 MPH four-seam fastball backed it up. While those made up the majority of his throws, he also keeps a splitter, sinker and occasional sweeping slider in his back pocket.

The movement on most of his pitches hovers close to average, but he's been able to locate well, as evidenced by both his K% and BB%.

But perhaps the most intriguing trend is the fact that although Martin had a high K% (27.9%) and K/9 (10.15) in 2024, he ranked well below average in inducing whiffs (23.9%). His whiff numbers have never been better than average, but he's consistently racking up punchouts, with a K/9 north of 10 in four of his past six seasons.

What that suggests is an exceptional ability to use the strike zone. That suggests he's able to catch hitters looking, but when they do whiff, it matters. He's thrown a first-pitch strike 73.5% of the time through his career against a 61.0% MLB average, and has done so while generally limiting hard contact.

Splits

While many pitchers' numbers come with an asterisk in their platoon splits, Martin is among the more versatile arms. In 2024, left-hand batters hit him more frequently (.284) than righties (.268), but didn't hit him as hard (.364 slug) as same-handed batters (.402 slug).

For his career, he's been relatively even between the two as a whole, but with a reverse split in the average department. Overall, right-handers have hit him to a .268 clip, while lefties have managed only .247. The slug is close to even (.378 to LHB vs .386 to RHB), as is the OBP (.285 vs .289).

That's a useful proficiency to have, and suggests Martin is fundamentally sound with his diverse arsenal, rather than being exceptionally vulnerable to matchups.

Cons

Age

Without acting like 39 is truly ancient, it is by MLB standards, especially for an arm that's been through the ringer. In fact, his velocity took a dip in 2024, his age-38 season. Though he was able to average close to 96 MPH on his fastball and even close to 93 MPH on his cutter, those both took a 1-2 MPH dive in 2024.

The movement on his splitter and sweeper also took a major hit, and their usage began to fall as he relied more heavily on his cutter.

It's not a sample size or gap that might be cause for major concern, but entering his 10th MLB season at age 39, there's a risk that both the velocity and movement will continue to decline. Anything more than a one-year deal would be a huge leap of faith, and age can catch up to a pitcher quickly.

Health Concerns

It hasn't been the easiest stretch for the 38-year old in recent years. He's spent a decent amount of time on the Injured List in the past two seasons, and dealt with a variety of issues, ranging from shoulder issues and elbow inflammation to anxiety issues and severe illness.

The health concerns have piled on, and he's been on the IL four separate times since 2022. Part of that could be due to age, as mentioned above, and he's certainly still managed to pitch solid seasons. But his career-high in innings over 9 years of action is 56.0.

That said, he's also pitched more than 40 innings in five of his past six seasons despite all the downtime. It's an interesting balance for the veteran. He isn't exactly "unreliable," but there are warning signs of a potential physical breakdown.

Conclusion

$7 million might be somewhat steep for someone of Martin's age and injury history, but he's been a very, very effective arm, and his peripherals back it up.

The D-backs could use someone who is able to manipulate the zone as well as he can, while limiting free passes and finding ways to confuse hitters. Couple that with a large frame and a still-solid velocity profile, and Martin looks quite appealing.

He's been consistently good across the board, and more proficient in high-leverage situations than some of the other options on the free agency market.

If the D-backs could find a way to perhaps slightly lower his guaranteed money--maybe with an innings incentive to account for potential injury or decline--Martin might be worth a one-year deal in the twilight of his career to provide high-leverage depth and plenty of veteran savvy.

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