TORONTO — Barring a last-minute setback, Red Sox setup man Chris Martin will return from the injured list and be activated for Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. And though Martin’s absence has not been long (13 games as of Monday), his pending return is a significant one because of the reason he was sidelined for two weeks.
Martin has been on the 15-day IL since June 5 (retroactive to June 2) with anxiety-related symptoms after feeling fatigued and not being able to sleep as much as he wanted to in recent weeks. The 38-year-old pitched just twice between May 22 and May 30 and ultimately was taken off the roster due to his symptoms.
For privacy reasons, the exact details of Martin’s bout with anxiety remain scarce. But as he readied himself to rejoin the bullpen after a successful one-inning rehab outing Sunday in Buffalo, Martin said his symptoms have improved while adding that he still has some things to work through in the coming weeks and months.
“The support I got from the organization and throughout the league has been great,” Martin said. “Trending in the right direction. Still have to work on things, like if it was a physical thing.
“When you come out with something like that, you start realizing there’s other guys going through what you’re going through. It was kinda hard to bring that up but I think the support I got was a lot different than when you get an injury on your elbow or shoulder. This is something I had to learn. When you have an injury, you’ve got to take care of it. When you have a mental injury, you have to take care of it just as well and not let it bottle up, fester and turn into a huge thing.”
Martin joins a growing list of players — that includes Austin Meadows, Daniel Bard and others — who have hit the IL with anxiety in recent years. As the stigma around mental health has lessened in recent seasons, the conversation about anxiety-related issues in athletics has grown louder. Red Sox officials like chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora have commended Martin for speaking up and taking a break he felt was necessary. The Red Sox said they’d let Martin dictate his timeline to return to the mound and it appears things have improved to a point where he’s ready to pitch after spending just a couple days more than the minimum required for pitchers on the IL.
“I’ve been managing some things, anxiety and things that were a possibility to cause the fatigue I was feeling,” said Martin, who found himself easily tiring while working out before games in recent weeks. We’re trending in the right direction so that’s a plus … The legs and fatigue with the stuff I was battling was the main reason.”
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Martin, who pitched to a stellar 1.05 ERA last season, has had an up-and-down start to the 2024 season on the mound. He struggled in April (5.56 ERA) then dominated for much of May before allowing three runs on four hits in his last outing May 30. In total, he owns a 4.22 ERA in 21 ⅓ innings over 21 appearances; he has struck out 24 batters.
Martin has been battling significant pain in his left (non-throwing) shoulder all season and the Red Sox believe it has impacted his delivery in a negative way. The Sox’ team of doctors have devised a treatment plan for the issue, which Martin said he first noticed during a round of golf with former teammate Ryan Brasier over the winter. It’s something the veteran righty plans to manage and have addressed this winter.
“My (right) arm’s good,” Martin said. “Obviously, been battling the left shoulder deal that I’ve been rehabbing. It’s starting to trend in the right direction. That’s a plus. Obviously, it wasn’t the reason I went on the IL but that was a thing I wanted to focus on while getting a little bit of time off.
“I’m probably going to have to get it looked at, at the end of the year. But it would look kinda silly if I ended my year with a left shoulder injury. I’ll get through it.”
Veteran long relievers Chase Anderson and Brad Keller are the two pitchers who would seem to be in the most jeopardy of losing their roster spots when Martin is activated.
“Let’s see how he feels today,” Cora said. “He’s gonna move around. There’s a good chance he’ll be active tomorrow.”
