The Angels aren't sneaking into the playoff race at 48-75, but that doesn't mean they've stopped working the phones and the waiver wire. Their latest addition is Trevor Martin, a 25-year-old righty the Rays designated for assignment on August 13 before Los Angeles scooped him up.
Martin isn't a household name, but he's got a real pedigree. Tampa Bay took him in the 3rd round of the 2022 draft out of Oklahoma State, added him to the 40-man roster in April, and got his big-league debut going on April 20. FanGraphs had him as the Rays' #40 prospect as recently as June, and his arsenal — a mid-90s fastball paired with a cutter and splitter — is the kind of stuff that gets a team to take a flier even on a struggling reliever.
The results at the top level just weren't there yet. Martin posted a 3.97 ERA in 11 1/3 innings across 6 appearances with the Rays this season, but he was noticeably better at Triple-A Durham, running a 3.09 ERA over 43 2/3 innings with a healthy 25% strikeout rate. That gap between his minor-league dominance and his major-league shakiness is exactly the profile teams gamble on in August.
For the Angels, this is roster churn with a purpose. Their bullpen has been one of the worst units in baseball down the stretch, sporting a 5.16 ERA over the last week alone, and it's been gutted further by injuries to Shaun Anderson, Sam Bachman, Yusei Kikuchi, Robert Stephenson and Jack Kochanowicz. With no fixed closer and arms like Ben Joyce still working back from injury, general manager Perry Minasian has been picking up any live arm he can find — and Martin, still just 25 with a big-league arsenal, fits that mold perfectly.
Don't expect Martin to be handed high-leverage innings right away. Claims like this are usually about roster depth and a fresh evaluation window more than an immediate save-situation promotion. But in a lost season, the Angels are using their bullpen as an audition stage, and Martin now gets a shot to show Los Angeles what Tampa Bay never fully got to see.