Red Sox: 3 Cubs trade deadline targets for Chaim Bloom

1. Red Sox trade target on the Cubs: Chris Martin

It’s pretty amazing that relief pitcher Chris Martin is already 36. The easy Coldplay reference to make feels ancient. In actuality, Martin didn’t actually start pitching really well until 2019 when he was in his second season with the Texas Rangers. He was traded in the middle of the season to the Atlanta Braves where he had a 3.30 ERA in 79 innings of work across two and a half seasons.

His tenure in Atlanta ended on a high note with a World Series ring in 2021. Martin gave the Braves 2.1 shutout frames in the World Series following a good yet not great regular season.

Martin was off to a fine start with the Cubs until a recent beating by the bats of the San Diego Padres which raised his ERA from 3.71 to 5.09. Signed to just a one-year deal this offseason, he’s an easy choice for Chicago to shop. It seems they accurately selected a few free agents for their bullpen this year. Unfortunately, the rest of the team didn’t perform strongly enough to make them anything more than trade deadline sellers.

A major mission for Bloom this summer should be to load up the Red Sox bullpen with talented arms. Martin is one of those guys with recent playoff experience to make an offer for. He shouldn’t cost too much either. It’ll allow them to look at any other holes they need to fill and have the assets on the farm to get it done.