Major League Baseball suspended Toronto Blue Jays prospect Orelvis Martinez this weekend. Martinez violated the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, resulting in an 80-game suspension.
ESPN’s MLB insider Jeff Passan reported the news Sunday morning.
“Martinez, 22, is Toronto’s top hitting prospect and made his big league debut Friday,” Passan wrote.
Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martinez has been suspended 80 games for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Martinez, 22, is Toronto’s top hitting prospect and made his big league debut Friday.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 23, 2024
In a statement, the Blue Jays prospect claimed he was prescribed the drug that led to the positive test.
In a statement, Orelvis Martinez said he was prescribed a fertility drug this winter that led to his positive PED test.
“We wanted to keep this matter private, even within our family, and trusted the doctor who assured us this treatment did not include performance-enhancing…
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 23, 2024
Martinez is the latest MLB player to face suspension for PED violations. The most high-profile example of suspensions recently was Fernando Tatis Jr. The San Diego Padres superstar missed the back half of the 2022 MLB season and part of the 2023 MLB season due to an 80-game suspension.
Martinez, the No. 2 Blue Jays prospect according to MLB.com, has a lot of hype in the Blue Jays organization. But that hype will be tempered after this suspension. You hope the second baseman doesn’t make the same mistake twice because if he does, then further punishment is on the way. And that would be bad news for everybody involved.
The Blue Jays are currently in last place in the American League East Division. They are 35-41 and 15.5 games behind first-place New York.
[Jeff Passan]
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Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022