Searching for Brad Keller Part 3 – Corbin Martin

This is the third post in a series taking a closer look at the Cubs non-roster Spring Training invitees pitchers – with the hope that one of them might break out similarly to how Brad Keller did last season. Or at least provide some organizational depth to the bullpen

Here is a great Twitter thread from Brendan Miller going through all the pitchers in camp, including the non-roster invitees:
https://x.com/brendan_cubs/status/2021429115208016238?s=20

Next, we will take a look at Corbin Martin, yet another Tread Athletics client. You may be noticing a Tread trend here.

Corbin Martin

Martin is 30-years-old, and only has pitched 75 major league innings in 34 games. His career ERA is 6.54, so the Cubs must be seeing something in him that he has not yet demonstrated.

He was a 2nd round draft pick of the Astros in 2017, and started 5 games for them in 2019. before being included in a trade (along with 3 other players, included the great baseball name, Seth Beer) for Zack Greinke. He suffered a major elbow injury at the end of 2019, and missed the entire 2020 season. He strained his oblique while recovering from Tommy John surgery for the elbow injury.

Arizona tried him as a starter in 2021 and 2022, but things were not better, as his ERA was 7.75 over 10 games, including 5 starts. This included another injury in 2021 as a forearm strin ended his season early. And 2023 was a lost season due to injury, as Martin suffered a right lat tendon tear in Spring Training, and he spent the whole year on the IL.

He was waived by the Diamondbacks in April of 2024 and was briefly picked up by the Brewers, pitching 7 games in the minors before being waived again. The Orioles picked him up, and he spent the season in the minors for them, but was re-signed in the offseason as a free agent. He spent most 2025 in AAA posting a 5.82 ERA in 34 games, and after the Orioles sent away a few pitchers (including Andrew Kittredge) at the trade deadline, he pitched 17 games out of the bullpen for the major league team in July and August, picking up 2 saves while posting a 6.00 ERA.

So what am I missing here? Martin was a high draft pick, but has shown no indication that he would an effective major league reliever for the Cubs, and has a career filled with various injuries that have caused him to miss time. But maybe that is the key. Perhaps if he can maintain his health, he’ll be able to unlock the potential that made him a 2nd round pick.

Here is another good write-up from Matthew Trueblood from North Side Baseball on the signing:
https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-sign-righty-corbin-martin-to-minor-league-deal-r2438/

I particularly like this quote from Trueblood:
“A healthy Martin showing a semblance of command could be a strong contributor to the Cubs’ middle-relief corps. For now, this is just a bit of spaghetti to throw against the wall, but as was true of Brad Keller last winter, there’s more than the usual amount of reason to admire the fit and hope that this piece sticks.”

Bleacher Nation weighed in on the signing here:
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2026/01/12/cubs-corbin-martin/

When looking at Martin’s pitch mix, he primarily uses a 4-seam fastball (44%) that averaged 94.7 mph, topping out at 97.9. His slider is his next primary pitch at 32% usage, and his curveball was used 20% of the time . He only threw 10 changeups (3%) all season. Those two primary pitches were not effective as the OPS against his 4-seamer was .946 and against the slider it was 1.283.

I would guess there was something at Tread that the Cubs saw that makes them think Martin can become a good reliever, but at this point, I’d expect him to be an extremely long shot to make the team, let alone become a really valuable contributor.