Rangers News: Chris Martin's next chapter, a new hitting coach, trouble in the reliever market

It's mid-November, and the stove is simmering. We've yet to see things truly boil over, but the Texas Rangers could be laying the groundwork for a seismic shift. Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi are on the trade block; the Rangers are eyeing an NPB superstar, and we're just a little over two weeks from a potential lockout.

With all these balls in the air, it can be easy to miss some of the other, seemingly minor happenings going on around the club. However, sometimes small things make a big difference. These are the stories that have flown a bit under the radar over the past few days.

Former Rangers reliever Chris Martin calls it a career

Chris Martin has a complicated legacy in Arlington, first landing with the Rangers in 2018 and then returning for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. In 2025, he was a lights-out piece in the bullpen, posting a 2.98 ERA over 49 appearances and 42 1/3 innings. Chris Young hoped to catch lightning in a bottle again, bringing the veteran right-hander back for 2026, but age and injuries derailed the man otherwise known as "Coldplay."

Texas cut him loose in August, and now it appears that closes the book for the 40-year-old, who announced his retirement on November 11. While the end wasn't great, Martin can hold his head high. He was a late bloomer, debuting at 28 while failing to grab a foothold in the early going. He'd go on to reinvent himself in Japan, posting a 1.12 ERA over 88 1/3 innings in the NPB. That led the Rangers to sign him in December 2017, setting up his career rebirth.

All told, Martin appeared in 434 games, threw 403 innings, and posted a very respectable 3.53 ERA. He won a World Series in 2021 with the Atlanta Braves. Congrats on a stellar career, Chris, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

Rangers hire Tommy Joseph as hitting coach

Following the shake-up that saw Alex Cintrón removed as assistant hitting coach to be shuffled into a different role in the organization, Texas has made an addition to the coaching staff, hiring Tommy Joseph as major league hitting coach.

Joseph will work under Justin Viele in hopes of revitalizing an offense that has slumbered for the better part of the past three years. Joseph's experience includes stints as an assistant hitting coach with the Seattle Mariners in 2024 and the Baltimore Orioles in 2025, as well as some minor league coaching experience.

Just 35 years old, the hope is that Joseph, who actually played in the Rangers minor league system and slashed .284/.351/.533 with 21 homers between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018, can bring forth some new ideas and unlock a more versatile skill set within the lineup.

Potential Rangers reliever target Evan Phillips goes off the board at an astronomical price

One key area of need for the Rangers this offseason is the bullpen, a unit that wasn't very good in 2026 and could lose key pieces like Jakob Junis and Tyler Alexander in free agency. Without much money to spend, the expectation is that Chris Young will look to find undervalued gems who could provide the relief corps with some serious bang for the buck.

One potential target could've been former Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips. After beginning his career as a journeyman, Phillips became a dominant reliever in Los Angeles, posting a 2.12 ERA over 179 innings from 2022 through 2024. He'd miss almost all of 2025 and the first half of 2026 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and his list of other past ailments is pretty lengthy, giving hope that he could be had on the cheap.

That went out the window on November 12, when he signed a three-year, $35 million deal with the Atlanta Braves. It was a surprisingly large commitment given that injury history, and while it takes a potential target off the board, the implications for Texas are even bigger.

Phillips contract sets the market high for the mid-tier reliever class that the Rangers are likely to target. He has high-end stuff, something the 'pen in Arlington desperately needs, so any buy-low projections for injury-prone but electric arms just went out the window. If the market continues to develop this way, Young will once again go diving through the scrap heap looking for relief help.

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