Chris Martin’s playing days are over.
The veteran right-hander has retired, according to Robert Murray of FanSided, closing the book on a career that stretched across 11 MLB seasons, seven big league clubs and a couple of years in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Martin’s final chapter came with the Rangers in 2026, but it didn’t last long. He battled a shoulder impingement, landed on the injured list multiple times and struggled in the 16 games he managed to pitch before being released in August.
That outcome fit with what he had already hinted at last fall, when he said in September of 2024 that he was 95% sure 2025 would be his last season. In the end, the 5% won out for one more try.
His road to the majors was anything but straightforward. Martin grew up in Texas and played high school ball there, then was drafted by the Tigers in 2004 but didn’t sign.
He moved on to McLennan Community College, got drafted again by the Rockies in 2005, and went the draft-and-follow route before shoulder surgery on a torn labrum changed everything. Colorado passed on signing him, he went undrafted in 2006, and his pro career began in independent ball.
Even that nearly ended before it really got going. Shoulder problems kept piling up, and Martin figured baseball might be done for good.
He worked odd jobs for UPS, Lowe’s and an appliance warehouse. Then came the moment that changed the script: a game of catch behind that warehouse, where his shoulder suddenly felt better.
He gave baseball another shot, worked his way back through indy ball and eventually landed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in 2011.
The early major league results were rough. After being traded to the Rockies in 2013, Martin debuted in 2014 and posted a 6.89 ERA over 16 appearances.
He was designated for assignment that offseason and sent to the Yankees for cash, but the move didn’t spark an immediate turnaround. He logged a 5.66 ERA in 24 appearances for New York.
Martin then took his game overseas and found real success with the Nippon-Ham Fighters. Over two seasons in NPB, he threw 88 1/3 innings with a tiny 1.12 ERA, enough to earn a two-year, $4MM deal with the Rangers entering 2018.
His first Rangers stint was solid, if not dominant, as he finished 2018 with a 4.54 ERA. The real breakthrough came in 2019.
In the middle of the “juiced ball” season, Martin was traded to Atlanta and finished with a 3.40 ERA, a 30.1% strikeout rate, a 2.3% walk rate and a 50% ground ball rate. The Braves rewarded him with a two-year, $14MM contract, and he followed that with 61 1/3 innings and a 3.08 ERA.
He also made five postseason appearances in 2021 as Atlanta won the World Series.
From there, Martin kept producing. He pitched for the Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox and Rangers, and from 2022 through 2025 he worked 194 innings with a 2.60 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, 3.1% walk rate and 47.4% ground ball rate. He tried to extend that run into 2026, but the shoulder issues and poor results ended the comeback attempt.
In all, Martin appeared in 434 major league games and finished with a 3.53 ERA, 409 strikeouts, 55 walks, 120 holds and 16 saves. Baseball Reference lists his career earnings at just over $48MM.
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