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Blue Jays’ Orelvis Martinez suspended for 80 games for alcohol-related drug violation

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Toronto Blue Jays top prospect and infielder Orelvis Martinez has been suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball for violating its doping ban, the league announced Sunday.

Martinez issued a statement through the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) saying that he and his girlfriend had been trying to start a family and had been prescribed a drug called Rejun 50 by a fertility clinic in the Dominican Republic.

“Unfortunately, Rejun 50 contains a banned substance called clomiphene,” the statement said. “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.”

Clomiphene is a medication used primarily to treat infertility in women. It belongs to a class of drugs called selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). In some cases, clomiphene may also be prescribed off-label to treat male infertility by stimulating the production of testosterone and improving sperm production.

Martinez said he takes full responsibility for the suspension and apologized to the Blue Jays and Bisons organizations.

“I will learn from this experience and return to the field in September.”

Atkins: Blue Jays will support Martinez during suspension

The Blue Jays issued a statement shortly after the suspension was announced, saying that the baseball club fully supported the decision to suspend the 22-year-old.

“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,” said Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins.

“Orelvis has our support and we know he will get through this.”

Martinez made his major league debut on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians, going 1-for-3 with a single. He is considered the organization’s best infield talent after posting a .260/.343/.523 batting average with 16 home runs and 46 RBIs in 63 games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

The Blue Jays have recalled Martinez after the club placed shortstop Bo Bichette on the 10-day injured list. The 22-year-old was Rankings from MLB.com as Toronto’s second-best talent at the start of the season.

Martinez was Toronto’s biggest international signing in 2018, joining the team for $3.5 million.

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