When it rains, it pours.

Mired in a five-game losing skid, the Toronto Blue Jays received some unfortunate news on Sunday morning: Top prospect Orelvis Martinez has been suspended 80 games for violating MLB&#8217;s performance-enhancing drug policy.
<a href="https://x.com/MLBPA_News/status/1804895519740719573">Martinez said in a statement released by the MLB Players&#8217; Association</a> that he was prescribed a fertility drug during the off-season that led to the positive PED test.
<blockquote>&#8220;For the past two years, I have been trying to start a family with my girlfriend. During the offseason, we visited a fertility clinic in the Dominican Republic and after getting lab work done, we were prescribed a treatment, which included a medication called Rejun 50,&#8221; Martinez said in the aforementioned statement.
&#8220;Unfortunately, Rejun 50 contains a banned substance called Clomiphene. We wanted to keep this matter private, even within our family, and trusted the doctor who assured us this treatment did not include performance-enhancing drugs. Therefore, I made the mistake of not disclosing this to my team or the MLBPA. With that said, I took full responsibility for my actions and accepted my suspension.&#8221;</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Ross Atkins on Orelvis Martinez suspension. More on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> Central at 1p ET <a href="https://t.co/KEPOZu6G4d">pic.twitter.com/KEPOZu6G4d</a>
&mdash; Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehazelmae/status/1804904465599713308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is a very unfortunate blow for the Blue Jays and one of their most exciting young players. Martinez was called up from Triple-A Buffalo earlier this week when Bo Bichette landed on the 10-day Injured List. The 22-year-old made his Major League debut on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians and went 1-for-3 with a single in a 7-1 loss.
The Blue Jays signed Martinez in July of 2018 with a bonus of $3.51 million. He made his first appearance on Baseball America&#8217;s Top 100 Prospects list ahead of the 2021 season and came into the 2024 season ranked No. 90 in baseball. Over 63 games with the Bisons this season, Martinez has slashed a .260/.343/.523 line with 16 home runs, the most of any player in the Blue Jays organization at any level.
With Martinez now on the Restricted List, the Blue Jays have called up outfielder Steward Berroa from Triple-A Buffalo. The 25-year-old switch-hitter has a .295 batting average and a .831 on-base plus slugging percentage for the Bisons this season.

When it rains, it pours.



Mired in a five-game losing skid, the Toronto Blue Jays received some unfortunate news on Sunday morning: Top prospect Orelvis Martinez has been suspended 80 games for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy.

<a href="https://x.com/MLBPA_News/status/1804895519740719573">Martinez said in a statement released by the MLB Players' Association</a> that he was prescribed a fertility drug during the off-season that led to the positive PED test.
<blockquote>"For the past two years, I have been trying to start a family with my girlfriend. During the offseason, we visited a fertility clinic in the Dominican Republic and after getting lab work done, we were prescribed a treatment, which included a medication called Rejun 50," Martinez said in the aforementioned statement.

"Unfortunately, Rejun 50 contains a banned substance called Clomiphene. We wanted to keep this matter private, even within our family, and trusted the doctor who assured us this treatment did not include performance-enhancing drugs. Therefore, I made the mistake of not disclosing this to my team or the MLBPA. With that said, I took full responsibility for my actions and accepted my suspension."</blockquote>
https://twitter.com/thehazelmae/status/1804904465599713308

This is a very unfortunate blow for the Blue Jays and one of their most exciting young players. Martinez was called up from Triple-A Buffalo earlier this week when Bo Bichette landed on the 10-day Injured List. The 22-year-old made his Major League debut on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians and went 1-for-3 with a single in a 7-1 loss.

The Blue Jays signed Martinez in July of 2018 with a bonus of $3.51 million. He made his first appearance on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list ahead of the 2021 season and came into the 2024 season ranked No. 90 in baseball. Over 63 games with the Bisons this season, Martinez has slashed a .260/.343/.523 line with 16 home runs, the most of any player in the Blue Jays organization at any level.

With Martinez now on the Restricted List, the Blue Jays have called up outfielder Steward Berroa from Triple-A Buffalo. The 25-year-old switch-hitter has a .295 batting average and a .831 on-base plus slugging percentage for the Bisons this season.

Orelvis Martinez suspended 80 games for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy

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