Blue Jays finally announce wildly popular prospect promotion, but it comes at a cost

The Blue Jays' no. 3 ranked prospect per Jays Journal Orelvis Martínez is headed to Toronto in correspondence to shortstop Bo Bichette being placed on the 10-day IL. He will be active for tonight's game with the Jays against the Boston Red Sox in Toronto.

This promotion has been eyed by Jays fans for much time now, and their top-ranked hitting prospect is getting a chance to earn a major league roster spot on a team looking for an offensive surge. Martínez slashed .260/.343/.523 with an OPS of .866 in 63 games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2024, and is tied for the league lead with 16 home runs. He ranks among the top 20 in most of the major hitting stats in AAA this season and his offensive value has been well-known for quite some time. Hopes are high that he can bring more power to an offensively-challenged lineup.

Martínez slots into Bichette's roster spot, as the shortstop was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain. Martinez has played 194 career MiLB games at shortstop, but has yet to play the position this season as he's been used primarily at second and third base. Martínez's defense, however, isn't one of his strong suits, and his 14 errors already in 2024 are just one way to see that. It's likely that another infielder on the Blue Jays' roster, whether it be Ernie Clement or Isiah Kiner-Falefa, will fill in defensively for Bichette's absence in the field and Martínez will find his playing time divided among the aforementioned second or third base positions.

Bichette's absence on this team will prove one of two things; either the Blue Jays will be better off without him in the lineup, or his everyday presence will prove costly. Thus far in 2024, the Jays are 4-2 in six games without Bichette in the lineup, so the next two weeks or so will be instrumental in determining Bo's role on this team. His triple-slash line of .237/.286/.342 with an OPS of .628 pales in comparison to every other season of his career, each of which saw an OPS mark above .800. It's been rumoured that Bo might find himself on the trade block closer to the trade deadline, and his offensive struggles haven't helped him gain any ground in that respect lately.

LHP Brandon Eisert is also being sent back down to Buffalo after throwing a pair of scoreless innings of relief last night against Boston in his MLB debut, which will see RHP Ryan Burr return to the Blue Jays' bullpen after a stint in Buffalo. Eisert walked three but didn't allow any runner to score, but it's just not his time for a permanent bullpen spot, especially with three left-handers already manning the Blue Jays' pen.

If Martínez can find quick success at the MLB level, he might never give this roster spot up. The Blue Jays are in dire need of some consistent offense and the addition of the Triple-A home run leader to a team already filled with the likes of Clement, Spencer Horwitz, and Davis Schneider could spell the recipe for success that Toronto so desperately wants to make happen. The Jays have been relying on younger talent all season long from their hitters and Martínez is just next in the chain of succession that hopes to produce mainstays at the major league level.