Nationals sign former top-100 prospect from Blue Jays

Billy Heyen

Nationals sign former top-100 prospect from Blue Jays image

It's not a busy time of the year for MLB transactions.

But on Friday, the Washington Nationals reached a reported agreement with a former top-100 prospect of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Washington Post's Andrew Golden reported the news: The Nationals and Orelvis Martinez are in agreement on a minor-league deal for next year.

Martinez's dark mark on his resume is an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs that he served in 2024.

The Blue Jays released Martinez on Sept. 15.

Martinez, 23, spent this season at Triple-A Buffalo. In 99 games for the Bison, he batted just .176 with 17 doubles and 13 home runs.

In his minor league career, Martinez is a .232 hitter with 123 home runs.

Martinez can play all over the infield.

This season, Martinez played in one big league game. He went 1-for-3 at the plate.

It's a bit surprising to see the Blue Jays give up on Martinez, but his struggles following his suspension must've been enough for Toronto to want to move in a different direction.

The Nats are still trying to push their rebuild back into contention, and so the chance to add a talented 23-year old was one that must've felt too good to pass up.

Martinez will likely open next season at Triple-A Rochester while the Nats determine what his role could be with their MLB club.

MORE: Aaron Judge breaks Ted Williams' American League record

Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle