Rangers activate Chris Martin, option Gavin Collyer to Round Rock

Chris Martin’s activation from the 15-day injured list pushed the Rangers’ bullpen hierarchy back into motion, and Gavin Collyer’s trip to Triple-A Round Rock showed how thin the margin remains for Texas’ younger arms. Martin returned after a right shoulder impingement that sidelined him since April 15, and the move came after he missed the Rangers’ last 30 games.

The veteran right-hander had not worked much before the injury or during the rehab build-up. His last big-league outing came April 14 at the Athletics, when he needed just five pitches to record one-third of an inning and strike out one. Martin’s brief assignment with Round Rock included three games, 5 earned runs and 8 hits in 2.2 innings, with no walks or strikeouts. His two most recent rehab appearances, both against Sacramento, were sharper, allowing one run over 2.0 innings on back-to-back days.

Texas is counting on the version of Martin that stabilized its late innings a year ago. After signing a one-year major league contract on January 6, 2025, he posted a 2.98 ERA over 49 appearances last season, finishing with two saves and 13 holds. This season, though, he entered the activation with a 1-1 record and a 7.11 ERA in eight relief outings, so his return is as much about reclaiming a trusted leverage role as it is about health.

Collyer’s option to Round Rock does not read like a setback so much as a test of how the Rangers want to keep their bullpen stocked. The 25-year-old right-hander, drafted in the 12th round in 2019 out of Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, made his MLB debut on April 15 against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. He struck out Lawrence Butler in that first big-league inning and quickly gave Texas a glimpse of a reliever who can miss a bat when the stuff is right.

MLB Pipeline ranked Collyer as Texas’ No. 30 prospect, and his 2.84 ERA in 14 appearances showed enough to keep him firmly in the conversation. For the Rangers, Martin’s return restores one late-inning option, but Collyer’s fast rise means the door back to Arlington is already open if his Triple-A work sharpens again.