Orelvis Martinez suspended for 80 games

On Sunday, he obtained an 80-game suspension after testing optimistic for performance-enhancing substance Clomiphene, Main League Baseball introduced.

Later that day, Martinez’s teammates suffered a 6-5 loss to the Guardians to complete an 0-6 week as Toronto continued to lose floor within the American League standings.

“We’re in a tricky stretch proper now,” supervisor John Schneider mentioned after the Blue Jays have been swept at Progressive Subject.

There have been sufficient contributing components to that even earlier than the information about Martinez got here out.

The 22-year-old Martinez discovered concerning the suspension on Saturday evening and instantly knowledgeable Blue Jays basic supervisor Ross Atkins and Schneider.

“Extraordinarily upset and shocked,” Atkins mentioned pregame in Cleveland. “We absolutely assist this system and desire a degree taking part in discipline, and we’ll work with him to make sure he’s discovered from this. Clearly, a giant mistake. We’ll assist him when he returns and thru the method.”

Martinez mentioned in a press release that he had been prescribed a fertility drug by a health care provider within the Dominican Republic in the course of the offseason that resulted within the optimistic check. Atkins mentioned he believed the check occurred earlier than Martinez joined the Blue Jays in Toronto earlier within the week.

“… I took full duty for my actions and accepted my suspension,” Martinez mentioned. “I need to apologize to my teammates in each Buffalo and Toronto, the Blue Jays group, and most significantly, the followers who’ve supported me throughout my profession.”

The Blue Jays, like each crew in baseball, work with each MLB and the MLB Gamers’ Affiliation to assist educate worldwide gamers on the league’s guidelines surrounding performance-enhancing medicine and banned substances. The Blue Jays even have their very own inside program that provides supplemental schooling surrounding each matters.

“I really feel like there’s plenty of it in place to make sure that all of it has been downloaded by Orelvis,” Atkins mentioned. “I feel this particular expertise is the true studying for him, however I feel it’s persevering with to concentrate on ways in which he can enhance as a human, participant and teammate, and there’s a number of alternative for that all through our construction.”

The suspension comes on the worst doable time for the Blue Jays (35-42), who’ve now dropped eight of their previous 10 video games. The crew hoped that Martinez, who was hitting .260 with 14 house runs and 46 RBIs with Triple-A Buffalo, would offer some much-needed pop to a lineup that’s hit the third-lowest quantity of homers in MLB.

“In troublesome occasions, you’ll see plenty of finger-pointing and excuse-making. Fortuitously, we haven’t seen that, which supplies us the boldness that we will nonetheless get it circled,” Atkins mentioned. “We’ve had a giant setback over the past 5 days [and] we’ve dug ourselves into a bit of little bit of a deeper gap. There’s nonetheless time for us to show issues round; it’s depending on a profitable streak, clearly, however we’re nonetheless able to that.”

The Blue Jays have been in a position to generate some energy on Sunday, hitting three house runs (two from Spencer Horwitz in his first profession multi-homer sport), however their pitching — which had beforehand been their rock — allow them to down once more.

Yusei Kikuchi labored for the second straight begin, permitting 4 runs and eight hits over two innings earlier than being knocked out of the sport by a 40-minute rain delay. Zach Pop and Brendon Little could not maintain off the Guardians’ lineup, both, and the Blue Jays’ ninth-inning rally ended on a George Springer forceout to depart runners on first and second.

When the Blue Jays take the sphere for his or her sequence opener towards Boston on Monday, they’ll achieve this a season-high seven video games underneath .500 and 15 1/2 sport again within the AL East.

“These guys perceive we’ve obtained one other robust sequence in Boston, however you’ve obtained to maintain going,” Schneider mentioned. “These guys are doing it; it’s a tricky stretch.”

Schneider described his response to Martinez’s suspension as “shocked and upset,” however the skipper mentioned that he was proud of the quantity of maturity that the 22-year-old confirmed concerning the suspension.

“He is aware of he made a mistake and we’re going to assist him by way of it,” Schneider mentioned. “The actual fact he’s taken duty for it’s a good first step. … He’s a younger child however he understands he made a mistake.”

Martinez gained’t be capable of play with any of the crew’s associates whereas he’s suspended, and he’ll spend that point at one of many Blue Jays’ amenities. His suspension will likely be over on Sept. 23 — 5 days earlier than the common season ends.

As Atkins was addressing the media, a clubhouse attendant packed up Martinez’s bag of substances and disappeared into the bowels of the stadium. 5 days in the past, the arrival of that tools in Toronto signaled a hopeful signal of issues to come back.

“We all know the followers’ disappointment and we share that,” Atkins mentioned. “It has been a really troublesome time when you could have these expectations and also you’re not fulfilling that.”