Jesús Fernando Martínez Álvarez (born October 10, 1988) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. Martínez signed with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in 2005, and made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) debut in 2009. He also played in MLB for the Houston Astros. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. He was one of 14 players suspended for taking part in the

Biogenesis baseball scandal The Biogenesis scandal broke in 2013 when several Major League Baseball (MLB) players were accused of obtaining performance-enhancing drugs ("PEDs"), specifically human growth hormone, from the now-defunct rejuvenation clinic Biogenesis of America ...

. He played for Team Spain in the 2019 European Baseball Championship. He then played for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, in Italy in September 2019.

Career

New York Mets

Martínez signed with the Mets in July 2005 as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, when he was 16 years old. Mets general manager

Omar Minaya Omar Teodoro Antonio Minaya y Sánchez (born November 10, 1958) is a Dominican baseball executive. He was the special assistant to the general manager of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He previously served as general manager for the ...

, known for his ability to attract Latin American talent to the Mets, lured Martínez with a signing bonus of $1.4 million. Minaya said of the signing "What we saw in artinezwas a 16-year-old kid with power, great ability and great character, above everything else.” Martínez had played

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

in the minor leagues since the 2007 season with Double-A Binghamton. He was selected to both the 2007 and 2008 All-Star Futures Games. Martínez was considered by many to be a potential 5-tool player at the major league level. '' Baseball America'' named him as the Mets Number One Prospect for 2007 and 2008. Martinez then saw his status as a blue chip prospect decline over the next few years, due in large part to his frequent stints on the disabled list. For example, Martinez was ranked as the Number 1 prospect in the Mets' organization by Scout.com in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, he was dropped to Number 4. Similarly, ESPN Scout Keith Law ranked Martinez as the Number 10 overall prospect in 2008, and then as the Number 16 overall prospect in 2009, but dropped him to Number 73 overall in 2010. Due to his accumulated time on the major league roster, Martinez' prospect status expired after 2010. After batting .291 with 8 home runs and leading the International League with 25

extra-base hits In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

in 42 games with AAA Buffalo, Martínez was called up to the major leagues on May 26 as José Reyes and

Ryan Church Ryan Matthew Church (born October 14, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Minors Drafte ...

were placed on the disabled list. He went 0–3 with 2 strikeouts, a fielder's choice, a hit by pitch, and an RBI. He hit his first career home run against the Brewers on June 30 in a 6–3 loss. After appearing in 11 games for the Mets in the majors and batting just .227 with an On Base Percentage of .261. The Mets waived Martinez on January 9, 2012 after years of injuries and disappointing progress.

Houston Astros

On January 11, 2012, Martinez was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on May 6, 2013. In 2012 Martinez played well for the Astros AAA team with
slash line
of .314 / .367 / .507. However, Martinez struggled to perform in the Majors. The next year Martinez struggled in both the minors and majors for Houston.

New York Yankees

On June 18, 2013, Martínez was traded from the Astros to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

for minor league pitcher Charles Basford. On August 5, 2013, Martinez was suspended 50 games by the MLB for violating its drug policy and connection to Biogenesis.

References

External links

Scout.com – Fernando Martinez profileMLB.com – Future Mets outfielders show promise: Prospect Martinez displays extraordinary power at young age
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Fernando 1988 births Living people Binghamton Mets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic sportspeople in doping cases Gulf Coast Mets players Hagerstown Suns players Houston Astros players Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Mesa Solar Sox players Mexican League baseball left fielders New York Mets players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players St. Lucie Mets players 2019 European Baseball Championship players