BOSTON — Rafael Martin arrived in the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park on Tuesday afternoon with a blue duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He took a look around, dropped the bag and greeted clubhouse manager Mike Wallace, who unzipped it and began unpacking its contents.
Tanner Roark was playing cards at a nearby table when he saw Martin enter. He recognized the gravity of this simple moment, the feelings of excitement and anxiety that come with a major league debut. Roark gave Martin a bearhug.
“Welcome,” he said with a smile.
After spending four years as a construction worker in California, three years as a pitcher for the Saltillo Saraperos of the Mexican League, and five years in the Washington Nationals minor league system, Martin made it to the majors Tuesday afternoon. The longtime baseball journeyman is now a 30-year-old rookie, and he couldn’t be happier — nor more appreciative of his journey.
“It’s something unique, but I’m proud of it,” Martin said. “Finally got the opportunity and now to make the best of it.”
Martin’s arrival was a needed feel-good story for the Nationals’ after their ugly 9-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Monday. It also cast a spotlight on the muddled nature of Washington’s bullpen. While pulling Martin up from Triple-A Syracuse, the team also designated left-hander Xavier Cedeno for assignment. The move leaves manager Matt Williams with only one left-handed reliever — Matt Thornton — in his bullpen.
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Williams said the move was necessary after Jordan Zimmermann’s short start Monday. Zimmermann allowed seven earned runs and exited the game in the third inning, forcing Tanner Roark to eat innings and making him unavailable for a few days. Ideally, Williams said, he would have two left-handers available, especially with a four-game series against the left-handed-heavy lineup of the Philadelphia Phillies coming up later this week. The means Martin’s big-league stay could be brief.
“It’s a question of need sometimes, not necessarily comfort,” Williams said. “The way we sit right now, [Martin] gives us that length. Optimally, two lefties are what we want, but sometimes we have to make adjustments.”
Martin’s performance in the past 12 months is as impressive as his path to that point. He shot through the minor-league ranks in 2014, advancing from Single-A Potomac to Triple-A Syracuse and dominating at every stop. He went 46 1/3 innings without allowing a run from May 16 to Aug. 17, a stretch that included 29 games. That led to an invite to major league spring training, during which he posted a 1.35 ERA in eight appearances.
If Martin is sent back down to the minors in favor of a left-hander, mostly likely Rich Hill, he will not let it deter him. After all he has been through to reach this point, there aren’t many events that could.
“I feel like I always had that determination to get here,” Martin said. “I went through some downs and a couple surgeries and stuff. I just kept working hard to get that opportunity. And finally, it happened.”
Martin is the latest addition to a bullpen that was viewed as a question mark entering the season. The Nationals traded Tyler Clippard to the Oakland Athletics this winter in exchange for Yunel Escobar. Then, they traded left-handed specialist Jerry Blevins to the New York Mets in late March, acquiring outfielder Matt den Dekker in return and counting on Cedeno to fill Blevins’ role.
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Cedeno pitched in five of Washington’s first seven games, and warmed up during at least one other, before he was cut. Both he and den Dekker are no longer on the team.
Without a left-handed specialist to complement Thornton, or a lockdown eighth-inning setup man, the Nationals’ bullpen has been in a state of flux. Both Craig Stammen and Roark have the ability to pitch multiple innings. Blake Treinen, a former starter, is still adjusting to high-leverage situations. Casey Janssen, a candidate to fill Clippard’s eighth inning role, is on the disabled list.
“That’s part of the game. It happens,” Williams said. “We want to have a set way we do it, and that way would be [Stephen Strasburg] go eight tonight and go to the closer. But that doesn’t happen every day. We wish it did. It means we’d have a really nice season. But it doesn’t work that way. So sometimes guys have to step into different roles. Sometimes guys have to pitch multiple innings. It’s what you go through during the course of a season.”
Washington’s flux became Martin’s fortune. Whether he is here for one game or the rest of the season, he will always feel lucky. After a winding journey, he finally got his shot. And he even got it earlier than expected.
“I was thinking June, July, if somebody got hurt or was struggling,” Martin said. “But I’m happy it came sooner than later.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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