Red Sox’ Chris Martin to pitch rehab outing as he recovers from anxiety

Less than two weeks removed from landing on the injured list due to anxiety, Chris Martin is set to take the mound again this weekend. The 38-year-old is expected to pitch a rehab outing for the Worcester Red Sox in Buffalo on Sunday. Martin was placed on the 15-day IL on June 5. Martin and the Red Sox opted to specifically list him as experiencing anxiety, as athletes publicly discussing their mental health is becoming more accepted. However, such instances are still rare, especially in MLB. Before Boston’s game against the New York Yankees on Friday, Martin opened up about his mental health in a story by The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams. “I was having some body fatigue that was stemming from some other stuff,” Martin said. “I think I kind of let it fester a little too long and I wasn’t feeling good. I understand the difference between baseball tired and where [I] was. It was affecting my performance. “Accepting it and speaking about it to professionals, getting a better understanding of how to take care of it, is what I’m working on right now,” he continued. “I think at some point, when I kind of get my head wrapped around all of it, I will speak out. I’m still working right now.” McWilliams wrote that “Martin is feeling better” ahead of his upcoming Triple-A rehab outing. The relief pitcher also explained that reaching out for help and talking about what he was going through with others last weekend helped his recovery. “Everybody probably deals with it in some sort of fashion. I think that’s why it’s kind of hard to speak up. It’s not the manly thing to do,” he said. “But since I’ve opened up about it, obviously, it’s gotten a lot better. I think I’ve gotten a lot of support from people I really didn’t expect. It’s cool.” In the wake of the team making Martin’s mental health public earlier this month, manager Alex Cora spoke optimistically about the reliever’s situation. “He’s gonna be okay. Whenever he’s ready, he’s ready, right?” Cora said. “But I think with the team that’s around, it’s gonna surround him, and he’s gonna be okay.”