Chris Martin’s time in the majors is coming to an end.
The veteran reliever is reportedly retiring after 11 seasons, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray. Martin’s career took him through the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Red Sox, and he leaves behind a long run built on persistence and a late-career stretch that stood out in Boston.
For Red Sox fans, Martin’s most memorable chapter came after he signed a two-year deal with the club in 2022. He didn’t arrive in the majors with Boston until 2023, but once he did, he looked like one of the best relievers in the game.
That season, Martin posted a 1.05 ERA and a 46-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 51 1/3 innings. He followed that with a 3.45 ERA and a 50-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 44 1/3 innings in 2024.
Boston lost him in free agency after the 2024 season, and he landed with the Texas Rangers, where he spent the final two seasons of his career. The Red Sox had interest in bringing him back last offseason, but it never came together. It also meant Martin never got the chance to pitch for Boston in the postseason, since the club missed the playoffs in both 2023 and 2024 and didn’t return until 2025, when he was already in Texas.
What some fans may not realize is that Martin’s Boston story actually started long before his big league breakout with the club. He first joined the organization on a minor league deal before the 2011 season and spent 2011 through 2013 in the Red Sox system. After pitching in Indy Ball in 2010, he made his MiLB debut in Boston’s organization, reached Triple-A, and still didn’t make his major league debut for the Red Sox until he came back ahead of the 2023 season.
Martin’s path was a winding one, including a stint in Japan, but it added up to a solid career. He finishes with a 3.53 ERA across 434 major league appearances and a World Series ring from 2021 with the Atlanta Braves. His run in Boston was brief, but it was a productive one, and the Red Sox got two strong seasons out of him before his career came to a close.
In Other News...
Red Sox Seem To Be Drawing A Line On Franklin Arias
Craig Breslow has shown a willingness to move premium young talent in recent years, but Franklin Arias appears to be a different case. The Red Sox reportedly view the highly regarded shortstop prospect as almost untouchable, a notable stance for an organization that has not been shy about dealing from its prospect depth when the right opportunity presents itself.
Arias is already regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball and is seen as the likely long-term answer at shortstop once Trevor Story is out of the picture. Trade conversations have come up, but Boston would only entertain the idea of moving him for a true superstar who comes with multiple years of control, which says plenty about how high the ceiling is on Arias and how carefully the club is drawing its line. [Read more 🡒]
Brayan Bello Gave The Red Sox A Reason To Believe Again
Brayan Bellos 2026 season looked like it might be headed off course when he lost his spot in the Red Sox rotation and spent time in the minors before shifting to the bullpen. But after coming back from Triple-A, he settled in as a long reliever and gave Boston a much steadier version of himself, one that paired a low ERA with the kind of effectiveness that had been missing earlier in the year.
When he got another chance to start, Bello made the most of it. He turned in three strong outings down the stretch, with better strikeout numbers and a FIP that pointed to real progress under the hood. After a year that tested his standing with the club, Bello at least left the Red Sox with a reason to think a full-time return to the rotation in 2027 is back on the table. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Still Have A Pitching Need Breslow May Solve Differently
Craig Breslow made it clear the Red Sox are still looking for more pitching this offseason, and the need has a familiar shape: a right-handed arm who can add depth without forcing the club to overextend. Sonny Grays departure in free agency opened a hole, and while Boston does have several starters returning, the picture behind them is less settled because some of the internal right-handed options come with injury questions or uneven recent performance.
What makes this search interesting is that Breslow does not sound locked into the usual free-agent route. He has emphasized the value of optionable pitching depth, which points toward the kind of young, controllable arm Boston could try to pry loose in a trade. Names such as Carmen Mlodzinski and Will Warren fit that mold, though a deal for Warren would not come easily given the divisional complications involved. [Read more 🡒]