Inside The Rangers

Texas Rangers Reunite With Arlington Native, Sign Reliever To One-Year Deal

The Texas Rangers have added another player to their bullpen by signing him to a one-year deal.

Brad Wakai

Aug 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Chris Martin (55) pitches during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium
Aug 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Chris Martin (55) pitches during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
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This offseason, the Texas Rangers have gone about things with a clear intent of improving their roster so they can compete for an AL West title and get back into the World Series picture.

They were not able to defend their championship last year when they missed the playoffs, and ahead of the trade deadline when the writing was on the wall that this result was likely to occur, the front office decided to become sellers.

But now, the aggressive mindset is back.

Signing veteran reliever Chris Martin is the latest move to ensuring this Rangers team will have the best chance of contending for a championship.

The Arlington, Texas native has had a winding road getting to this point, turning down a Major League opportunity out of high school as an 18th-round pick before he was later taken in the 21st round and then undrafted in 2006.

He first broke through with the Colorado Rockies at the MLB level in 2014 and pitched with the New York Yankees in 2015 before struggles took him overseas to Japan.

Martin came back stateside with his hometown ballclub in 2018, signing a two-year, $4 million contract with Texas. He performed well enough where he was sent to the Atlanta Braves ahead of the trade deadline the next season.

The right-handed reliever has pitched with the Boston Red Sox the past two years, putting up a dominant ERA of 2.16 and ERA+ of 205 across his 100 outings.

If that's the type of production the Rangers get, he'll be a major weapon for them out of the bullpen.

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Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently is the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. He is also a contributor at FanSided, writing about the Philadelphia 76ers for The Sixers Sense. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai

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