Blue Jays just handed Cleveland a potential power source on a silver platter

On June 26, 2024, Orelvis Martínez made his major league debut at Progressive Field as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. 

It's the only major league game he’s played in.

A day after making his major league debut, Martínez was popped for an 80-game suspension after he tested positive for Clomiphene, which is a banned substance. 

That suspension marked the end of Martínez’s MLB tenure with the Blue Jays, and his tenure with the team came to an end this week when they designated him for assignment. 

It’s time for the Guardians to swoop in and grab him off waivers. 

The Guardians need to claim Orelvis Martínez off waivers

To be clear, Martínez is by no means a perfect player. He has a ton of swing-and-miss in his game, and he was hitting .176 in 99 games at Triple-A prior to being DFA’d. 

But he also has the kind of power the Guardians’ middle-infield has been lacking. He has a career .802 OPS in the minors, and has slugged 123 home runs in 554 games. 

That’s the kind of production the Guardians need, which is why they should take a flier on him. 

They’d be able to free up a 40-man roster spot by designating Will Wilson or Johnathan Rodríguez for assignment, and then would be able to carry Martínez on their 40-man roster all offseason (he has one more minor league option remaining after this season). 

The biggest knock on Martínez is the amount of swing-and-miss in his game. He’s posted a strikeout rate above 20% in every minor league season since 2019, and has a disastrous 28.4% strikeout rate this year in Triple-A, which would be the seventh-worst mark among MLBers this season. 

He went 1-for-3 in his lone MLB game last season.

That, coupled with his PED suspension, will likely keep most teams away. But at this point, the Guardians can’t afford to be picky. 

Their major league middle-infield currently consists of Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio alongside utilitymen Daniel Schneemann and Angel Martínez. All of them are fine players, but none of them have the kind of power that Martínez possesses. 

The same can be said for Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito in Triple-A; they’ll likely make their major league debuts this year so long as they can stay healthy, but power is neither of their calling cards. 

The Guardians routinely rank as one of baseball’s best teams when it comes to strikeout rate, so having a player like Orelvis Martínez in the lineup may be jarring to some parts of the fan base. But he has the kind of power that makes the tradeoff worth it. 

And, if he doesn’t produce in the spring or if the Guardians end up pulling off a roster-shifting trade then they could designate him for assignment with no added repercussions. 

One thing is clear: The Guardians need an influx of power to their roster. Adding Martínez is an easy way to make that happen.