Former New York Yankees Pitcher Retires

Former New York Yankees reliever Chris Martin has retired from Major League Baseball after 11 seasons.

The right-hander announced the decision on Wednesday, closing out a career that spanned 434 appearances, 403 innings, and a 3.53 ERA with 409 strikeouts and only 55 walks.

He also earned a World Series ring with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.

Martin’s path to the Bronx began after a rocky rookie year with the Colorado Rockies in 2014. The Yankees acquired him for cash that winter, and he earned a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Wearing number 57, he made 24 appearances in pinstripes during the 2015 season.

On April 28 he recorded the first save of his major-league career, closing out a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.

Elbow tendinitis later sent him to the disabled list, and he finished the year with a 0-2 record and a 5.66 ERA across 20⅔ innings.

After the season, the Yankees sold his rights to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, where he spent two productive years in Japan before returning to the majors.

Although his Yankees tenure was brief, it marked an important early chapter for a late-blooming pitcher who had worked in a warehouse before reaching the big leagues.

Martin went on to pitch for the Texas Rangers, Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox.

His most effective stretches came later in his career: he posted a 1.05 ERA in 55 games for Boston in 2023 and contributed to Atlanta’s 2021 championship run.

He returned to Texas for the final two seasons of his career, posting a solid 2.98 ERA in 49 appearances in 2025 before injuries limited him to 14 innings and a 9.00 ERA in 2026. The Rangers released him in August.

MLB acknowledged the retirement in an official statement, noting Martin’s seven-team journey and his World Series title.

For Yankees fans, the news serves as a reminder of one of the many journeyman arms who passed through the bullpen during the mid-2010s.

Martin never became a mainstay in the Bronx, yet his first career save and his willingness to compete for a roster spot illustrated the grind that defined his career.

At 40, after more than a decade of major-league service and a successful detour through Nippon Professional Baseball, he steps away with a solid body of work and a championship on his résumé.