Chris Martin walked away from baseball twice, first because of injury and now by choice. After returning, he built an 11-season MLB career, recording a 3.53 ERA across 434 appearances. Now, the 40-year-old right-hander is retiring from Major League Baseball after an unlikely journey.

“Chris Martin has announced his retirement after 11 Major League seasons… Congratulations to Chris Martin on an outstanding career,” wrote MLB.

Chris Martin has retired after 11 Major League seasons, bringing an unlikely baseball journey to a close. The 40-year-old right-hander’s decision was reported by MLB insider Robert Murray and confirmed through his agency. Martin finished with 434 appearances, 16 saves, a 3.53 ERA, and 409 strikeouts. Though his Yankees and Dodgers stints were brief, Martin found his footing as a reliever elsewhere. But they hardly explain how difficult his route to the majors became.

Martin’s career nearly ended before it began. After shoulder injuries disrupted his early attempts to play professionally, he spent years working at Lowe’s, UPS, and a Texas appliance warehouse. A game of catch with his warehouse boss helped convince him that his arm could still hold up. He returned to independent baseball in 2010, then earned a minor league opportunity with the Red Sox in 2011. Martin eventually debuted with the Rockies in 2014, but his first two major league stops brought limited success. His career changed after he moved to Japan.

The Yankees acquired him in January 2015, and he recorded a 5.66 ERA across 24 appearances that season. He got his first career save in MLB in New York. But he was released after the campaign, eventually taking his career to Japan. With the Nippon-Ham Fighters, Martin recorded a 1.12 ERA across 92 appearances in 2016 and 2017.

He later explained what that experience taught him: “Being able to slow the mind down when things get a little hairy on the mound, that’s probably the biggest thing Japan did for me.”

Texas brought him back to MLB in 2018, and his 3.08 ERA before the 2019 trade deadline earned Atlanta’s attention after recording 43 strikeouts and just four walks in 38 innings. GM Alex Anthopoulos saw late-inning potential, saying Martin had “as much upside as anybody in the trade market.”

That confidence paid off when Martin became part of the Braves’ 2021 World Series-winning team. He then moved to the Cubs and Dodgers, delivering a particularly sharp stretch after Los Angeles acquired him in 2022. Martin posted a 1.46 ERA with 34 strikeouts across 24.2 innings for the Dodgers. The Red Sox signed him before 2023, and he responded with a 1.05 ERA, 46 strikeouts, and 23 holds in 55 appearances.

Manager Alex Cora praised the reliever’s impact, saying, “He’s done a hell of a job for us.”

Martin’s final season with Texas did not match those earlier standards. Shoulder trouble limited him to 16 appearances and 14 innings in 2026, when he finished with a 9.00 ERA. The Rangers released him in August, bringing an injury-hit final chapter to an otherwise remarkable career. His 2025 season had offered a more encouraging finish, as he posted a 2.98 ERA over 49 appearances.

Still, Martin leaves behind 11 seasons of dependable relief work, a World Series ring, and a career built on persistence few pitchers could match. His 3.3% career walk rate also underlined the control that made him valuable in high-leverage innings.

Chris Martin’s Post-Retirement Plans May Already Be Clear

Chris Martin might already have an idea of where his life is heading after retiring from Major League Baseball. The 40-year-old reliever has spent recent offseasons building something beyond his baseball career. Martin owns a ranch in Texas, where he raises cattle and deer. What started as an offseason occupation could now become his full-time responsibility after 11 MLB seasons.

Martin had actually started preparing for this transition several years before announcing his retirement. During a February 2023 spring training interview with MLB.com, he discussed how ranching had become part of his everyday routine.

He explained, “I’m a rancher in the offseason. I have cattle, and I have a ranch with deer and stuff like that. That’s kind of consumed me. I go work out early, and then I go take care of the animals and do all that stuff… Obviously baseball is my first passion, and I really enjoy it, but I also know that I can’t do it forever. I went ahead and found a second thing and went ahead and started it, a smooth transition for later on down the road.”

That explanation makes his retirement plans easier to understand, especially considering how deliberately he prepared for life afterward. Martin did not want to finish playing and suddenly find himself searching for another occupation.

Instead, he used his offseason breaks to develop the ranch while continuing his major league career. His routine of exercising early before looking after his animals showed how seriously he approached both responsibilities. Ranching was already taking up considerable time, making the transition away from baseball a natural next step.

However, Martin has not publicly discussed wanting to become a coach or pursue another baseball-related position. There have been no announced plans involving coaching, managing, or joining a team’s front office. His retirement does not necessarily mean he will never return to baseball, but there is currently no indication of that direction.

After recording 434 appearances, 409 strikeouts, and a 3.53 ERA across 11 MLB seasons, Martin can now devote more time to his Texas ranch. For now, his next chapter appears to involve cattle, deer, and some time away from baseball.