Former Chicago Cubs reliever Chris Martin has retired from Major League Baseball after an 11-season career that took him through seven organizations and a World Series championship.
The 40-year-old right-hander, who last appeared with the Texas Rangers before his August release, made the decision public on Wednesday, drawing tributes from around the league for a journey marked by patience, exceptional control, and late-career excellence.
Martin’s time with the Cubs was brief but part of a pivotal year.
He signed a one-year contract with Chicago ahead of the 2022 season and appeared in 34 games, posting a 4.31 ERA across 31⅓ innings while striking out 40 batters and walking just four.
At the trade deadline that July, the Cubs dealt him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for utility player Zach McKinstry.
The move revitalized his season: in 26 appearances for Los Angeles, Martin recorded a 1.46 ERA, limited opponents to a 0.53 WHIP, and struck out 34 while issuing only one walk.
He also contributed scoreless work in the postseason as the Dodgers advanced.
That performance fit a larger pattern of quiet reliability once Martin reached his prime.
A late bloomer drafted by the Colorado Rockies out of McLennan Community College in 2005, he spent years in independent ball, worked warehouse jobs, and recovered from shoulder surgery before reaching the majors at age 28 in 2014.
After early struggles with the Rockies and Yankees, he thrived in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, then returned stateside with the Rangers.
A 2019 deadline trade to Atlanta unlocked his best form. He helped the Braves win the 2021 World Series and later enjoyed his peak with the Boston Red Sox in 2023, when he went 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA in 55 games and earned a down-ballot Cy Young vote.
Across 434 regular-season appearances and 403 innings, Martin finished 19-25 with a 3.53 ERA, 16 saves, and 409 strikeouts against only 55 walks—one of the lowest walk rates of any pitcher with that volume of work in the modern era.
He earned more than $48 million and appeared in the postseason with multiple clubs.
Shoulder issues limited him to 16 appearances and a 9.00 ERA with the Rangers in 2026, prompting his release and, ultimately, the decision to step away. MLB and others offered congratulations on a career defined by resilience and precision rather than early stardom.
Martin’s path from independent leagues and overseas dominance to a championship and consistent major-league production stands as a reminder of how long the road to the majors can be—and how valuable a late-arriving, high-control reliever can prove once he arrives.
