Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Relief Pitchers to Target in Free Agency
By Noah Wright
Chris Martin
Chris Martin was a late-blooming reliever. He broke out at the age of 32 and has been one of the better relief pitchers in the league since. Even though 2023 will be his age-37 campaign, Martin is coming off the best season in his career and will look for a high-leverage role this off-season.
Martin pitched a total of 56 innings with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers. He had a healthy 3.05 ERA but an amazing 2.18 FIP and 0.98 WHIP. Martin had the 13th-lowest FIP among all qualified relief pitchers in 2022. Martin avoided walks like the plague, posting a 2.2% walk rate, the lowest walk rate in MLB. Don’t be mistaken; Martin also struck out nearly a third of the batters he faced with a 32.9% strikeout rate. He easily led the league in K:BB ratio by a margin of 4.63 strikeouts (posted a 14.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio). Martin was great when it mattered the most. He held opponents to a putrid .216/.222/.353 mark. Overall, he held opponents to a .566 OPS from the seventh inning onward.
The only real knock on his season was his .96 HR/9 rate, which is still right around the league average. Martin induced ground balls 49% of the time, which was the second-best mark of his career. It’s not as if luck was playing in Martin’s favor. He had a 1.87 SIERA and 2.01 xFIP, supporting his strong surface numbers.
Next. 2022 Prospect Season in Review: Mason Martin. dark
Although Martin may be one of the oldest relief pitchers on the free agent market, he’s proven time and time again that he can be a productive relief pitcher. There’s no signs of slowing down for Martin, and he’s one reliever the Pirates defintiely should put in their crosshairs.