Dodgers News: Chris Martin Proves LA Pitching Machine is Alive and Strong
As the Dodgers head into the postseason, one of the biggest question marks surrounds the closer position, which Craig Kimbrel lost last month.
Interestingly, though, the question isn't so much "What are the Dodgers going to do about the closer?" as "Which one of the several really intriguing options will get the most saves in the postseason?"
Because the Dodgers have a lot of really intriguing options to save games. If Blake Treinen is healthy enough for the NLDS roster, he might be the only member of the NLDS bullpen without a save in the 2022 regular season, and he has 79 career saves. Every other reliever likely to make the NLDS roster has the stuff to close out games for Los Angeles.
That includes Chris Martin, who came to L.A. from the Cubs at the trade deadline and has turned into the best version of himself, posting his highest career strikeout rate and lowest career walk rate while posting a 1.52 ERA in Dodger Blue.
We've heard this story before, right? Pitcher comes to L.A. and finds (or re-finds) the missing piece and turns into a valuable contributor. Just on the 2022 team, Martin isn't alone in that profile, with Tyler Anderson, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, and Yency Almonte sharing a locker room with him.
As Vesia said in the Los Angeles Times (reported by Steve Henson), “You’ve seen on multiple occasions guys we pick up immediately have an impact on the bullpen. It’s adding the little pieces to the puzzle.”
Martin has been thrilled to be the latest success story for the Dodgers.
“You hear about the success rate they have here and it’s easy to be confident they are going to give you good information,” Martin said. “Most of it came down to [catchers Will Smith and Austin Barnes], the guys behind the scenes communicating with them, how to use certain stuff, where to use it, when to use it. I bought in.”
Martin has 32 strikeouts and one walk since joining the Dodgers. He allowed a home run to Wilmer Flores the third batter he faced as a Dodger, and he hasn't allowed one since. He's also inherited 15 runners and allowed just one to score, a remarkable 93% strand rate that is easily the best on the team among pitchers with more than three inherited runners.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts sees a formula, and he's seen it work again and again.
“We do a great job of preventing runs,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Our front office, they do a good job of finding talent . . . and the coaches do a great job of developing it. It’s a great formula.”
With Chris Martin and his merry band of misfits, it will hopefully be the formula that takes them deep into October.
