Braves acquire Chris Martin from Rangers for Kolby Allard
The Texas Rangers have traded right-hander Chris Martin to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for left-hander Kolby Allard, the Rangers' executive vice president of communications announced Tuesday.
Rangers have acquired LHP Kolby Allard from Atlanta in exchange for RHP Chris Martin. Allard has been optioned to Nashville. He is 7-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2019. He was a first round pick by the Braves in 2015. Rangers roster at 40.
— John Blake (@RangerBlake) July 31, 2019
Martin, 33, has accrued a 3.08 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 38 innings for Texas this season. The veteran reliever - an impending free agent - also picked up four saves. Martin spent two years pitching in Japan before joining the Rangers in December 2017.
The move should help a Braves bullpen that ranks 25th out of 30 teams with a -0.1 WAR.
"We've been active on the relief market. There's a lot of other names that are out there," Atlanta's general manager Alex Anthopoulos said, according to 680 The FAN. "We felt he had as much upside as anybody in the trade market in terms of a late-inning arm. He's obviously gotten a chance to close some games for the Rangers."
Allard, meanwhile, is a 21-year-old pitching prospect who was drafted 14th overall in 2015 by the Braves. He was the No. 10-ranked prospect in their system and now ranks 16th with the Rangers, according to MLB Pipeline.