MLB suspends Orelvis Martinez for 80 games

Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martinez was suspended for 80 games on Sunday after testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug clomiphene. Martinez made his major league debut on Friday.

Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martinez has been suspended for 80 games for violating MLB’s doping policy. Martinez, 22, is Toronto’s most promising hitter and made his major league debut on Friday.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) 23 June 2024

“Orelvis was proud, disappointed and pretty honest for a young guy when he told us,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said before the series finale against the Cleveland Guardians. “He’s obviously humbled and knows he made a mistake. We’ll support him through the process.”

Orelvis Martinez is suspended for 80 games

Statement by Orelvis Martinez

Following his suspension, Martinez released a statement from the players association.

“I have been trying to start a family with my girlfriend for three years. During the off-season, we visited a fertility clinic in the Dominican Republic and after a laboratory test, we were prescribed a treatment that included a drug called Rejun 50.

“Unfortunately, Rejun 50 contains a banned substance called clomiphene. We also wanted to keep this matter private within our family and trusted the doctor who assured us that this treatment did not contain any performance enhancing drugs. Therefore, I made the mistake of not disclosing this to my team or the MLBPA. With that in mind, I took full responsibility for my negligence and accepted my suspension.”

“He was unaware the substance was banned,” said Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins. “We fully support Major League Baseball’s joint drug prevention and treatment program and strongly believe in a level playing field.”

“We are of course extremely disappointed and very surprised.”

Martinez signed with Toronto in July 2018 for a $3.51 million signing bonus. This season, in 63 games with Triple-A Buffalo, he posted a .260 batting average with 16 home runs, 46 RBI and an .867 OPS. Martinez will lose half of his salary. His contract is $740,000 in the major leagues and $120,600 in the minor leagues, both minimums.

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