Subsequent move by Blue Jays with Orelvis Martinez even more shocking than his DFA

Last Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays made an unexpected move that likely surprised all of Jays nation when they designated Orelvis Martinez for assignment. It sure came as quite the huge shock for Blue Jays fans as Martinez had been one of the organization’s highly-touted top prospects.

But if everyone was thrown off by the sudden DFA of a promising young player, the subsequent move made by Toronto was even more shocking as the Jays officially released the infielder after clearing waivers, letting him go to free agency.

Subsequent move by Blue Jays with Orelvis Martinez even more shocking than his DFA

That decision is certainly one that could leave many heads scratching. It’s one thing to give up on a DFA’d veteran that has failed to produce adequately at the major league level, but it totally doesn’t make sense to do the same for a prospect that still hasn’t reach their full development and potential, especially one that was only 23 years old.

The Jays could have put Martinez somewhere in their minor league system following his waiver clearance to at least keep him and give him another chance in the organization, despite no longer being on their 40-man roster. But instead, they chose to wave the white flag on their former top prospect.

One needs to remember that Martinez had posted back-to-back-to-back 28+ home runs and 76+ RBI minor league campaigns between 2021 to 2023. He was undoubtedly the best power-hitting prospect that the Blue Jays had coming up in their system. Martinez even made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays in 2024 before an ill-timed PED suspension derailed his development and overall season.

For those suspecting maybe his PEDs was what powered his performance, Martinez actually showed that he was more than capable in producing even without enhancements. When he came back from his suspension in September, he batted a stellar .304 with an .882 OPS, along with eight runs scored five doubles, one home run and three RBIs in 11 games to finish off the 2024 season with the Jays Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons.

However, Martinez had struggled massively in 2025 with Buffalo, accumulating just 13 home runs and 32 RBIs while batting below .200 over 99 games played. Perhaps that extreme underperformance was enough for the Jays brass to lose confidence in the young infielder and move on from the budding project.

Hopefully, Martinez won’t eventually come back to haunt the Jays when he ends up finding another opportunity with an MLB organization that could unlock his full potential and evolve into a viable solid major leaguer in due time.