Blue Jays Claim Rudy Martin Jr.

The Blue Jays have claimed outfielder Rudy Martin Jr. off waivers from the Orioles, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. Baltimore designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Jays have a full 40-man roster but could easily open a spot by moving someone like Addison Barger to the 60-day injured list.

Martin, 30, still has not made his major league debut. He only got a 40-man roster spot a few days ago. He started this year with the Royals on a minor league deal. He triggered an upward mobility clause in that deal and got traded to the Orioles last week. The O’s sent him to Triple-A Norfolk for a few days and then designated him for assignment. It seems they were hoping to get him through waivers to be kept as non-roster depth but the Jays have swooped in to prevent that.

His journey to a big league roster spot began long ago. He was a 25th-round pick of the Royals back in 2014. He spent the next few years grinding away in the minors but was never really a top prospect and was out of affiliated ball after 2022. He spent 2023 and 2024 playing for indy ball teams and started last year in the Mexican League before rejoining the Royals.

He seems to have put himself on the radar with a strong showing at the plate this season. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A, he has made 255 trips to the dish. His 23.5% strikeout rate is around average while his 16.1% walk rate is excellent. He doesn’t have huge power, however. Listed at 5’8″ and 155 pounds, his eight home runs this year are already close to a career high. He hit 11 in the minors in 2021 and 12 in indy ball in 2022.

He has a .284/.414/.441 combined slash and 127 wRC+ on the year. That has gotten some help from a .368 batting average on balls in play but it would be a solid showing even with some regression in the luck department. Even without much offense, he’s a threat on the bases. He’s generally stolen about 30 bases per year. He got that up to 39 last year and is already at 33 this season.

For the Jays, they effectively had a roster spot open. Barger has been out for over 60 days already and isn’t close to returning. Martin still has a full slate of options and can be stashed in Triple-A. He will at least provide speed. If he can sustain any of his work with the bat, that’s a bonus.

The Jays have an outfield mix consisting of Daulton Varsho, Nathan Lukes, Yohendrick Piñango, George Springer, Myles Straw and Davis Schneider, with Jesús Sánchez and Jonatan Clase on the injured list. Their recent slide in the standings has seemingly pushed them into seller status ahead of the deadline. Varsho and Springer are impending free agents who could be traded, though Springer has 10-and-5 rights. Straw’s deal has a club option for next year but that isn’t likely to be picked up, so he could be moved as well. Sánchez can be retained for 2027 via arbitration but he’s a non-tender candidate and might be on the block as well. Perhaps a few trades could open up a path for Martin to make his major league debut in the near future.