A former top prospect from the Toronto Blue Jays will officially begin the 2026 season in the minors.

Infielder Orelvis Martinez was reassigned to minor league camp by the Washington Nationals on Sunday, per the club’s announcement. The 24-year-old returned to the organization over the off-season on a minor-league deal that included a non-roster invitation to spring training.

Martinez initially caught on with the Nationals in late September last season, inking a minor-league contract a few weeks after being released by the Blue Jays. He spent all of 2025 at Triple-A Buffalo, struggling to a .176/.288/.348 slash line with just 13 home runs and 32 RBIs in 99 games, striking out close to 30 per cent of the time.

Even after being reassigned, Martinez will still be able to participate in Grapefruit League games with the Nationals this spring, though it means he won’t break camp with the big-league team. In all likelihood, the right-handed-hitting infielder will open this season at Triple-A Rochester and attempt to rediscover his game as a previously ranked top 100 prospect.

However, it’s been an encouraging start to the spring for the former Blue Jays prospect, who’s gone 4-for-10 with a walk and strikeout each in eight exhibition contests with Washington. He’s gotten back to hitting balls hard again, albeit during spring training, producing four hard-hit balls over nine batted ball events thus far.

Martinez has also been making better swing decisions, swinging and missing just 20 per cent of the time in 2026 — much improved from his 35.2 per cent whiff rate with the Bisons last season.

It’s been almost two years since Martinez briefly appeared in the majors with the Blue Jays, which lasted only one game before he received an 80-game PED suspension — and he’s been working to find his hard-hitting, power-thumping profile ever since.

But if he can find his groove again in ’26, there could be a pathway back to the majors, considering the Nationals only feature four middle infielders (CJ Abrams, Luis García Jr., Nasim Nuñez, José Tena) on their 40-man roster.