Former Dodgers Reliever Says 2025 Season is Likely His Last
Former Dodgers reliever Chris Martin had always planned on pitching for the Boston Red Sox until his arm gave out.
“I’m going to play for as long as they let me — as long as I can still do it,” Martin said back in July 2023.
Fast forward 14 months, and Martin’s perspective has shifted somewhat.
“To be 100 percent honest, I think next year will be my last year,” Martin told Christopher Smith of MassLive this week.
At 38, Martin’s looking to pitch through 2025, but he’s about 95 percent sure that’ll be the end of the line. He’ll become a free agent after the 2024 season, and while pitching has taken its toll on his body, he’s got one more year left in him.
This season has been a bit of a rollercoaster for Martin. Early on, he struggled with a left shoulder injury to his non-pitching arm, which threw off his delivery. Then, in June, he went back on the IL due to anxiety, followed by another stint from July 5 to Aug. 7 with right elbow inflammation.
For most guys his age, all these setbacks might be enough to call it quits, but Martin’s still got the itch to keep going for one more season.
While recovering from his elbow injury, Martin was watching the Red Sox play the Dodgers after the All-Star break and realized he wasn’t ready to walk away just yet.
“I saw the guys playing. They were in LA. I don’t know, I still had that like ‘man, I need to be there’ feeling. So I think I don’t want that to happen — retiring and then the season starts and I get the itch to play again, which is pretty normal.”
At the same time, being home with his family has made him think hard about his future priorities.
“We’ve got a fourth (child) on the way,” Martin shared. “Obviously I want to be there for them. And my kids are getting to the age where they’re starting to play sports. I’m getting older. Obviously, being 40 and still playing baseball is going to be tough, mentally and physically. I think that’ll probably be the cutoff. But I won’t say 100 percent. I’d say 95 percent that next year will be my last. I just want to stay focused for these last 11 days, and we’ll see if a team still wants me next year.”
So far, Martin’s had a solid season with a 3.43 ERA, 2.79 FIP, and a 1.09 WHIP in 40 appearances (39.1 innings).
Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
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