The Braves are designating outfielder J.P. Martinez for assignment, reports Francys Romero. The team has not yet announced the DFA or a corresponding transaction.
Acquired in an offseason swap that sent minor league righty Tyler Owens to the Rangers, the 28-year-old Martinez is a former high-profile signee out of Cuba who has seen limited big league action with Texas and Atlanta. Martinez made his MLB debut last year with the Rangers, hitting .225/.250/.325 in a tiny sample of 44 plate appearances. This year, he’s seen even less MLB time, going 2-for-10 with the Braves.
Though he hasn’t seen much MLB time and hasn’t hit well in his tiny cups of coffee, Martinez has a nice overall track record in Triple-A — despite middling numbers there in 2024. He’s hitting .244/.335/.360 thus far with the Braves’ Gwinnett affiliate but was outstanding with the Rangers’ top affiliate a year ago. In all, he’s played parts of three Triple-A seasons and slashed .258/.369/.450 in 777 plate appearances. He’s shown both power and speed in the upper minors, belting 23 Triple-A homers while going 72-for-82 in stolen base attempts. He’s played all three outfield spots in his professional career but has spent the majority of his time in center field.
Martinez has struggled with contact issues throughout his minor league tenure, often running strikeout rates in the upper-20s and low-30s. He looked to have reined that in last year with a manageable 22.9% strikeout rate in Triple-A, but that number has spiked back to 27.6% in 2024.
The Braves will have a five days to trade Martinez or place him on outright waivers. Going through waivers would then be a 48-hour process.
Jp noooooo
That was a waste of Tyler Owens.
Here comes Eddie
You are a sad person. Your life must be empty to care about a misogynistic jerk who no teammate felt anything but hate and disgust toward. But feel free to hire him to work for you in your basement
Umm you lost me over in left field on that comment triple f and b…….
fffbbb has me muted so he won’t see my response, but I think it’s ironic that he think someone else’s life must be empty while he goes on to be a jerk himself.
The Marlins should claim Martinez and let him play in center field. What would they have to lose? Maybe he’ll flourish with guaranteed playing time.
I didn’t even know the Mets released him.
JP, not JD
Ngl it wasn’t until I reached “the 28yo Martinez” that I realized this wasn’t the Martinez who has made at least one very questionable social media choice
JPM is such a TB type player…watch for them to turn him into a Brett Phillips lite
Eww