Cubs sign righthanded reliever Chris Martin

The Cubs have added a new righthander to the bullpen mix:

There are no further details on this yet (money, etc.) but “1-year deal” implies a major league contract.

UPDATE: Here are the contract details:

Chris Martin posted a 3.95 ERA and 1.269 WHIP in 46 appearances for the Braves in 2021. He also made five appearances in the postseason for Atlanta, including two in the World Series.

He pitched briefly for the Rockies and Yankees in 2014 and 2015 and then spent two years in Japan pitching for the NPB Nippon Ham Fighters before returning to MLB in 2018 with the Rangers. Since 2018 his MLB numbers are: 3.57 ERA, 1.097 WHIP and only 19 walks in 158⅓ innings. His K rate was down last year but his walk rate was still outstanding: Just six batters walked out of 181 faced (one intentional walk).

Martin is 35 but seems as if he could still be an effective MLB reliever. (He’s only a year older than Ryan Tepera, for example.)

The Cubs have not announced this deal nor the one signing Andrelton Simmons. Presuming the Martin signing is a MLB deal, someone will have to be removed from the 40-man roster to make room. There are several candidates for the 60-day IL, including Adbert Alzolay (who might miss two months), David Bote, Miguel Amaya and Codi Heuer.

Lastly, you can commence making Coldplay jokes at any time.