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Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom struck with his biggest move so far of the Hot Stove season on Friday by agreeing to terms with veteran righty reliever Chris Martin on a two-year, $17.5 million contract that is pending a physical, a source told MLB.com’s Jon Morosi.
The addition, once official, will be a significant one for a Boston bullpen that ranked 26th in the Majors with a 4.59 ERA while converting just 39 of 67 save opportunities.
The agreement, first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, has not been confirmed by the Red Sox.
Martin, 36, struck out 34 and walked just one in 24 2/3 innings after the Dodgers acquired him from the Cubs at the Trade Deadline. In 60 appearances overall in 2022, the seven-year veteran fanned 74 and walked five in 56 innings and went 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA.
In 269 career appearances, Martin has just nine saves, so it seems more likely he’ll be deployed as a setup man in Boston.
The Red Sox haven’t said who their closer is yet for 2023. Martin joins John Schreiber, Matt Barnes and Tanner Houck as righties who are likely to pitch in high-leverage situations for manager Alex Cora. Last month, Bloom added a lefty to the bullpen in Joely Rodriguez.
In 2021, Martin was part of a World Series-winning bullpen with the Braves. He pitched twice in that Fall Classic against the Astros, allowing no runs in two appearances.
This is the second stint in the Red Sox organization for Martin, who signed with Boston on March 31, 2011, and was traded to the Rockies on Dec. 18, 2013.
Before coming to the Red Sox, Martin pitched one season for the Grand Prairie Air Hogs, an Independent League team.
Martin pitched three seasons in Boston’s farm system, advancing as high as Triple-A in ’13.
He made his debut with the Rockies in ’14, pitched for the Yankees in ’15 before pitching two seasons in Japan.
Martin returned to the Majors with the Rangers in ’18.
It was in ’19 that he started his run of success as a dependable setup man. Martin’s improvement was a result of an improved walk rate and a diversified pitch mix.
According to Statcast data, Martin relied on six pitches last season, deploying a slider, sinker, cutter, curve, four-seamer and splitter. Many successful relievers use just two or three pitches, making Martin unique.
In his career, Martin has a 3.84 ERA with 34 walks and 261 strikeouts in 251 innings.
This figures to be the start of a busy offseason for Bloom, who is trying to re-sign free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts while also looking for upgrades at catcher, the starting rotation and perhaps some more additions to the bullpen. Though star slugger Rafael Devers has one year left on his contract, the Red Sox would like to reach an extension with the third baseman.