Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have made their first pre-deadline move. According to multiple online sources on Saturday morning, the team has acquired the services of reliever Chris Martin, lately of the Chicago Cubs, in exchange for utilityman Zach McKinstry.
The journeyman Martin comes to the team with a late-inning pedigree, having saved 7 games in his career. However, he is best known as a set-up man, a role he’s had with a few different teams. His big league career began with the Colorado Rockies, but Dodger fans remember him as a member of the Braves pen. He had a 2.25 ERA in the the 2020 postseason and was even better in 2021, posting a 2.08 ERA in five appearances.
Martin’s year with the Cubs has been kind of up and down. He’s been hovering around a 4.00 ERA during most of the year, although he’s had some good patches. Most recently he’s struggled, posting a 5.63 ERA in July.
The 6’8″ Martin can bring the heat. He throws about 50% fastballs and can hit about 95 on the gun. He also features a pretty decent cutter and a changeup. On rare occasions, he’ll throw a splitter or a curve.
The bonus with Martin is he’s got some swing and miss stuff. He’s got 40 strikeouts in only 34 innings this year, so he might be handy to have when Doc needs a K from his pen.
As far as McKinstry is concerned, he’s just been the odd-man out this season. He’s only had 11 at-bats all year, and most of them have been in garbage time when the game is no longer in doubt. He did have one homer this year, and has shown a lot of versatility in the field, so he will be useful to a rebuilding Cubs ballclub.
Not a huge move, but it’s a start. Kind of wish they’d held onto McKinstry to use as a chip in a bigger deal than Chris Martin, but we’ll see what the Dodger front office has in mind for the next few days.
