Rangers Designate Chris Martin For Assignment

The Rangers announced they’ve designated veteran reliever Chris Martin for assignment. Texas activated him from the 15-day injured list but evidently didn’t want to carry him on the MLB roster any longer. This drops their 40-man roster count to 39.

Martin went down with a right shoulder impingement for the third time in mid-July. He wasn’t pitching well before the injury and continued to struggle during his rehab assignment. The Rangers have the afternoon to find a trade partner for Martin. His most likely route is clearing waivers and electing free agency.

The 40-year-old Martin has battled shoulder problems all season. He also dealt with shoulder fatigue last season. His 2025 campaign was cut short by thoracic outlet syndrome. Martin was tagged for 14 earned runs in 14 innings with the Rangers this year. He had a 7.00 ERA in 10 rehab outings between Double-A and Triple-A.

Despite his arm issues and advanced age, Martin’s velocity remained intact this year. He sat 94.8 mph with the heater, right in line with his career numbers. Martin’s Stuff+ was at 102 during his time in the big leagues. The main issue was missing bats. Martin posted a brutal 6.9% swinging-strike rate in his 16 appearances. He had a career-low 13.6% strikeout rate. The splitter has been his main swing-and-miss pitch, but it had zero whiffs on 24 offerings this year.

If Martin is unable to latch on elsewhere, this could be it for him. The well-traveled righty has pitched for seven teams in his 11-year MLB career. He won a ring with the Braves in 2021. Martin didn’t have more than a handful of saves in any year, but he was a productive high-leverage reliever for several seasons.

Texas handed over the ninth inning to Jacob Latz this year, with excellent results. The former swingman has piled up 21 saves and earned his first career All-Star appearance. The club is listening to offers on several players, including Latz, so the bullpen could look quite different after the trade deadline. The Rangers’ relievers rank 22nd in xFIP and 23rd in SIERA. Five straight losses pushed the club out of first place in the AL West and 1 1/2 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot.