Blue Jays promote Martinez to AAA
Published
The Toronto Blue Jays have promoted third baseman Orelvis Martinez to Triple-A Buffalo, according to their transactions page.
As TSN Blue Jays Reporter Scott Mitchell notes, Martinez's promotion could give him an opportunity to make an impression at third base and could factor into the Blue Jays' long-term plans at the hot corner should they lose Matt Chapman in free agency this winter.
Mitchell also notes Martinez has quietly been doing work at second base during drills, though the organization has not made plans yet to move him.
The 21-year-old Martinez began 2023 as the No. 3 prospect in Toronto's farm system on TSN's Top 50 Blue Jays Prospects list. But Mitchell tweets he believes a resurgent season from Martinez has pushed him up to the second slot behind left-hander Ricky Tiedemann.
Martinez has played 70 games this season for Double-A New Hampshire, slashing .226/.339/.485 with 17 home runs and 46 RBI. He hit just .203 in 118 Double-A games last season but did slug .446 with 30 home runs.
A native of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, the Jays signed Martinez as a 16-year-old for $3.5 million in July of 2018.
Lawrence departs Jays
According to his MLB.com transactions page, veteran right-hander Casey Lawrence was released by the Buffalo Bisons over the weekend.
The 35-year-old has appeared in 10 games for the Jays at the MLB level, pitching to an 8.04 ERA in 31.1 innings. He's also spent time with the Seattle Mariners and has a career MLB ERA of 6.80 in 44 games over three seasons. Lawrence has not played in an MLB game this season.
Lawrence is 3-7 with a 4.67 ERA in 18 starts so far this season for Triple-A Buffalo.