Rangers Spring Training Preview: Brett Martin

Brett Martin is a holdover from the Rangers bullpen last season and he'll aiming to stay there in 2023.

InsidetheRangers.com previews each of the players on the Texas Rangers 40-man roster going into Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona.

P Brett Martin

In 2022: Martin was a consistent piece of the bullpen once he got off the injured list to start the season. He was activated on April 9 and made a couple of additional IL trips after that, last of which ended his season on Sept. 27 with a left shoulder strain.

Martin was 1-7 for the season and his ERA went up from 3.18 in 2021 to 4.14 in 2022. While he notched three saves on the season, his holds went down. He threw fewer innings (50), but he struck out basically as many in 2022 (40) as he did in 2021. Batters hit .260 against him and he gave up 18 walks.

He was lost in the shuffle with the emergence of Brock Burke as the bullpen’s best piece all season, Matt Moore’s consistent work as a set-up man and the addition of Taylor Hearn, who found a groove once he was removed from the rotation and did a short stint at Triple-A Round Rock.

Martin’s Career at a Glance: The Rangers selected Martin in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB Draft. It took Martin five seasons to get to the Majors, but once he made his debut in 2019, he’s managed to play four seasons. He has an 8-15 record with a .385 ERA in 187 total appearances.

Contract Status: Martin is arbitration-eligible in 2023. He becomes a free agent in 2026.

In Surprise: Martin has already proven that he can be a fairly reliable left-handed arm that can work an inning or two every second or third day. The thing is the Rangers, along every other MLB team, have a lot of arms like that. With the restructuring of the Rangers rotation, Martin has more competition now from pitchers that were rotation arms last season. He also has a new pitching coach to impress in Mike Maddux. There is an open spot for a pitcher with Martin’s talent, and that’s the spot vacated by Dennis Santana, who was traded in the offseason. However, Martin will have to wait. Per The Dallas Morning News, Martin's offseason shoulder rehab has not gone well and he's likely to miss most of 2023. So while he is on the Rangers 40-man roster for now, he'll likely start the season on in the injured list.

2023 Texas Rangers 40-Man Spring Training Previews:

Joe Barlow | John King | Dane Dunning |

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