Texas Rangers activate reliever Chris Martin, but trouble in warmup offers new setback

TAMPA – On top of everything else, the Rangers may have lost reliever Chris Martin again without him even throwing a pitch. Well, at least not in a game.

On Thursday, the Rangers activated Martin from the IL, though only a day earlier they’d indicated they were in a “holding pattern,” with him. When they asked him to protect an eighth-inning lead, Martin said his shoulder started once again making popping noises five warmup pitches in. He sat back down and Jake Latz instead entered the game.

“It was the same as what’s happened before,” said Martin, who left two different outings after just one pitch earlier in the year due to the same situation. “It’s mentally tough to go through to get ready to pitch and then get that same feeling. It’s frustrating.”

Manager Bruce Bochy said the Rangers will re-evaluate Martin, who turned 39 on Monday, Friday once the team gets to Washington, D.C.,

Rangers

The Rangers had activated Martin, out since May 19, to replace Kumar Rocker, who was demoted Thursday afternoon. Rocker lasted only 3 ⅓ innings in his start, forcing a heavy workload on the bullpen. Though the Rangers had been a bit unsure about Martin a day earlier, with Bochy saying he’d probably get another bullpen before the team made a decision, they opted to activate him.

Now, it appears he will likely have to go back on the IL and the Rangers will have to recall yet another pitcher. The most likely candidate is 24-year-old right-hander Luis Curvelo, who is having a standout season at Triple-A Round Rock.

Curvelo, who pitched on Tuesday at Salt Lake City, entered play Thursday with a 1.64 ERA and .195 batting average allowed in 22 innings of work. He is already on the 40-man roster, so it would not require an additional move.

There’s plenty of blame to go around after Texas Rangers’ ninth-inning collapse vs. Rays