Former Toronto Blue Jays Top 100 prospect one of Spring Training cuts by Nationals
Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
A former top-100 prospect from the Toronto Blue Jays will start the 2026 season in the minor leagues.
The Washington Nationals reassigned former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martinez to minor league camp on Sunday, the team announced.
Sunday morning cuts at Nats camp:
- RHP Riley Cornelio, RHP Luis Perales optioned to AAA
- INF Orelvis Martinez, INF Sergio Alcantara, RHP Bryce Montes de Oca, RHP Tyler Baum, C Caleb Lomavita reassigned to minor-league camp
- RHP Riley Cornelio, RHP Luis Perales optioned to AAA
- INF Orelvis Martinez, INF Sergio Alcantara, RHP Bryce Montes de Oca, RHP Tyler Baum, C Caleb Lomavita reassigned to minor-league camp
Martinez expected to begin the year with Triple-A Rochester
Martinez, 24, rejoined the Nationals organization during the offseason after signing a minor-league contract that included a non-roster invitation to spring training.
He first landed with Washington late last season, agreeing to a minor-league deal in September shortly after being released by the Blue Jays.
Martinez spent the entire 2025 campaign with Triple-A Buffalo, where he struggled offensively.
Across 99 games, he posted a .176/.288/.348 slash line with 13 home runs and 32 RBIs while striking out nearly 30 percent of the time.
Although he has been reassigned to minor league camp, Martinez will still be eligible to appear in Grapefruit League games for Washington this spring.
However, the move means he will not open the season with the major-league roster.
The right-handed hitter is expected to begin the year with Triple-A Rochester, where he'll look to rediscover the form that once made him a highly regarded prospect.
So far, the spring has been promising for the former Blue Jays infielder. Martinez has gone 4-for-10 with one walk and one strikeout across eight exhibition games with Washington.
He has also been making more consistent hard contact, recording four hard-hit balls across nine batted-ball events during spring play.
Martinez's swing decisions have improved as well. His whiff rate sits at 20 percent this spring, a significant improvement from the 35.2 percent rate he posted with Buffalo last season.
It has been nearly two years since Martinez briefly reached the major leagues with Toronto, appearing in just one game before receiving an 80-game suspension for violating MLB's PED policy.
Since then, he has been trying to rediscover the power-hitting profile that once made him one of the organization's top prospects.
If he can regain that form in 2026, there may still be a path back to the majors. Currently, the Nationals have only four middle infielders on their 40-man roster: CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia Jr., Nasim Nuñez and José Tena.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 9|91 ANSWERS Former Toronto Blue Jays Top 100 prospect one of Spring Training cuts by Nationals Do you think former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martinez will return to MLB in 2026? | ||
| Yes | 20 | 22 % |
| No | 41 | 45.1 % |
| Too early to tell | 30 | 33 % |
| List of polls | ||