Blue Jays prospect Orelvis Martinez was suspended 80 games on Sunday after testing positive for the banned substance clomiphene, which he claimed was prescribed by a fertility doctor.
The infielder, who made his major league debut Friday night after shortstop Bo Bichette was placed on the disabled list, said in a statement that he was trying to start a family with his girlfriend after visiting a fertility clinic in the Dominican Republic over the winter and was prescribed the drug Rejun 50, which contains clomiphene.
“We wanted to keep this private within our family and trusted our doctors to assure us that this treatment did not involve performance-enhancing drugs,” Martinez said, “so it was a mistake not to disclose this to the team or the MLB Players Association.”
“That being said, I take full responsibility for my mistake and have accepted my suspension.”
Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins also released a statement, saying the Blue Jays “fully support” MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and “believe strongly in keeping baseball on a level playing field.”
“We were surprised and disappointed to learn of Orlervis Martinez’s suspension,” Atkins added. “We will do everything in our power to help Orlervis learn from this mistake. We support Orlervis and believe he will overcome this situation.”
Martinez, 22, appeared in 63 games for Triple-A Buffalo this season, batting .260 with 16 home runs and an .867 OPS.
