Rangers’ Chris Martin Admits Biggest Issue Driving Late-Inning Problems

ARLINGTON, Texas — Chris Martin says he knows what’s missing. But it also happens to be a critical piece of his success as a reliever.

“Locate. I need to locate better,” the Texas Rangers reliever said after Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. “I feel like it it’s only thing I’m really not doing right now. A lot of balls are missing middle of the zone.”

Martin’s fourth appearance of the season saw him give up a leadoff double to Spencer Steer, followed by a home run to Tyler Stephenson. It was the second time in a week in which Martin either gave up a lead or a tie in the ninth inning.

For the guy that was supposed to share closing duties with Robert Garcia, this is not the start the 39-year-old was hoping for.

Chris Martin’s Rough Start

THE TYBREAKER@Tyler_Step22 pic.twitter.com/19if1kduhp
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 3, 2026

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said that Martin was throwing 95 to 96 mph and had the best stuff of any outing since the start of the season. He’s not ready to turn the page yet.

“These are the guys that we’re going to go with because we think they’re good, so we’re going to keep throwing them out there. … I think we’re all still trying to figure it out. Experience matters because they’ve done it before.”

But Martin hasn’t really “done” it before. Despite a long MLB career, he only has 16 career saves in 36 chances. Last season he only converted two saves in five chances and made 49 appearances. He missed a portion of the season with a recurring calf issue. The Rangers re-signed him to a one-year deal, and he’s already appeared in four of the season’s first seven games.

The results? A 1-1 record with a 13.50 ERA in 2.2 innings. The blown save in Philadelphia last Saturday wasn’t entirely on him. A dropped foul ball by first baseman Jake Burger led to the tying run scoring. He also allowed two runs in mop-duty against Baltimore.

On Friday, he hung a splitter with two strikes to Steer that he doubled. The sinker he threw to Stephenson for the home run should have been up and in, but it wasn’t.

“My last four outings haven’t been great,” Martin said. “[I’ve given up] a lot of hard contact. When I do get weak contact, it seems to find a hole. It just some things to battle through and get through.”

The question is how much more time should Martin get? The Rangers had nine different relievers with saves, but the staff converted 28 of 55 saves, barely 50% of their chances. Last year could be instructive. Luke Jackson won the closer job after being invited as a non-roster player. He lasted a month.

After Friday, Martin is likely on the clock.