Blue Jays young talent Orelvis Martinez suspended for 80 games for performance-enhancing drugs

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The feel-good story of Orelvis Martinez, who had a hit in his major league debut, has taken a decided turn for the worse as the Blue Jays sink deeper and deeper into the abyss.

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On the day the Blue Jays were set to end their three-game series in Cleveland, it was announced that Martinez, the club’s most promising young player, had been suspended for 80 games for violating Major League Baseball’s doping policy.

In the presence of his family at Progressive Field, Martinez had a hit on Friday.

He has now been hit with a suspension that will likely prevent him from playing on the show for the remainder of the season after testing positive for clomiphene, a fertility drug that is on the league’s banned substances list.

In a statement, Martinez said he had spent the past two years trying to start a family with his girlfriend and was prescribed the clomiphene drug Rejun 50 over the winter after visiting a fertility clinic in his home country of the Dominican Republic.

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“We wanted to keep this matter private, including within our family, and trusted the doctor who assured us that this treatment did not involve performance-enhancing drugs,” Martinez said in the statement. “Therefore, I made the mistake of not disclosing this to my team or the MLBPA. With that in mind, I take full responsibility for my negligence and accept my suspension.”

Martinez, 22, was called up last Tuesday when Bo Bichette (calf) was placed on the injured list.

This is terrible news for Martinez and terrible timing for the Blue Jays, who were swept for the first time this season when Boston took three points at Rogers Centre and who were expected to be swept again on Sunday after losing their first two games to the host Guardians.

Martinez became a symbol of hope for the Blue Jays, who had looked hopeless at the plate and slipped six games under .500 after Saturday’s loss.

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“The Blue Jays fully support Major League Baseball’s joint drug prevention and treatment program and firmly believe in maintaining an equal opportunity in the game,” the club said in a statement.

“We were both surprised and disappointed to learn of Orelvis Martinez’s suspension. We will do everything in our power to ensure Orelvis learns from this mistake.”

A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Martinez posted a .260 batting average with 16 home runs and 46 RBIs in 63 games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons this season.

For bureaucratic reasons, Martinez is placed on the restricted list, which allowed the Blue Jays to add OF Steward Berroa to the roster.

Berroa, 25, has been a catalyst in the minor leagues, capturing 29 bases and is adept at all three outfield positions.

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Martinez shared the news with GM Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider on Saturday.

Each of them expressed his surprise and disappointment at the bombshell that his young candidate had dropped on him.

“The fact that he’s taking responsibility is a good first step,” Schneider told the media in Cleveland. “He knows he made a mistake.”

For obvious reasons, the news came – to use a baseball metaphor – unexpectedly.

Martinez is a promising player whose time in the major leagues – at least for now – would have already expired on Tuesday when Bichette was allowed to come off the injured list.

Martinez’s arrival in Toronto was met with so much fanfare because so much has gone wrong for the Blue Jays this season.

On offense, the Jays were pathetic.

Many saw Martinez as a kind of savior, which seems quite absurd, but also illustrates the level of desperation the club has reached.

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Martinez’s suspension only adds to the Blue Jays’ misery and is somewhat similar to the Raptors’ situation last season when another feel-good story emerged about Jontay Porter, who was banned for life by the NBA for gambling.

At least Martinez has a chance to return to the major leagues.

On the field, Atkins has his hands full after watching his team lose five straight games before Sunday’s game, describing the last five days as a “major setback.”

“Getting to this point has been a disappointment for everyone in the clubhouse. We are frustrated and disappointed,” he said. “We know the disappointment of the fans and we share it.”

In his final at-bat on Saturday, Daulton Varsho injured his lower back after hitting a groundout in the ninth inning and was unable to make it out of the box. Varsho was scheduled to have Sunday off.

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