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| From USA Today |
The Atlanta Braves have acquired RHP Chris Martin from the Texas Rangers in exchange for LHP Kolby Allard.
Martin has had a very good season this year, and is a free agent at the end of the year. He has walked just four batters this year, and has a stellar 0.9 BB/9. His career BB/9 is 1.5, which is elite. He also has a K/9 over 10. The price is a little hefty, but he is a good get for the Braves, who need pitching, both starting and relief, in the worst way.
Martin, 33, has a 3.08 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 38 innings for the Rangers this year. In his MLB career for the Rangers, New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies, Martin has a 4.58 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 116 innings.
The Rangers have fallen out of the playoff race, now back at .500 (53-53) and are 6.5 games back of the second wild card spot. Martin has been a very effective reliever, but he will be a free agent, and they get a really good prospect in Allard. MLB Pipeline had him as Atlanta\’s 10th best prospect. His stock has fallen the past two years, but he is just 21 and has been in the majors before (small sample size alert) and was picked 14th overall in 2015. Pretty good haul for Martin.
Allard, 21, has a 4.17 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 110 innings for AAA Gwinnett this year. In three games in the majors last year, his entire major league career, Allard has allowed 11 earned runs in eight innings (12.38 ERA) with three strikeouts.
CarterHud 