Francis

Martes

Martes was pushed off the 40-man roster at the end of June and has now officially been cut loose from the Houston organization. The 25-year-old former top prospect last pitched in a major league game in 2017 and was showing a brutal 11.66 ERA through 13 appearances this season in the minors.

Martes, a former Top-20 prospect, went unclaimed after being designated for assignment last week. Now 25 years old, he’s struggled with a 10.80 ERA over 8 1/3 innings in Triple-A this year.

The Astros needed to make room for Ryan Hartman on the 40-man roster and Martes picked the short straw it seems. The right-hander carried a 10.80 ERA this season in Triple-A El Paso over 8 1/3 innings.

Martes has finished serving his 162-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance prior to the 2020 campaign. The 25-year-old former top prospect will report to Triple-A Sugar Land. It’s unclear exactly how he fits into the Astros future plans at this stage in his career.

It was reported Thursday that Luis Garcia, Bryan Abreu, and Ronel Blanco were away, and now Cristian Javier, Pedro Báez, Enoli Paredes, Francis Martes and Hector Velazquez have joined them. Paredes and Martes pitched in the Astros’ game Thursday against the Cardinals. Baker isn’t allowed to say it directly, but this would appear to be a COVID-19 contact tracing situation. Astros general manager James Click said Friday that there hasn’t been any thought of shutting down camp.

Martes gets the suspension for testing positive for Boldenone, which is on the list of banned substances. The 24-year-old was suspended 80 games last year for testing positive for a PED, and the second suspension automatically enacts a full season away for the right-hander. Once considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, Martes now has an uphill battle to ever again be a significant part of a major league staff.

It was his first outing with a full-season affiliate since he underwent Tommy John surgery last August. Martes also got suspended 80 games after testing positive for PEDs this spring, but he’s been able to serve out that suspension while recovering from the reconstructive elbow procedure. The 23-year-old should be a contributor for the Astros in 2020.

Martes’ 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug ended on Tuesday. The right-hander will have to be added to the 40-man roster soon, but the visa issue -- while obviously unfortunate for Martes -- will add some time for Houston. Once a top prospect, the 23-year-old is unlikely to make much -- or any -- contribution for the Astros this season.

Martes is serving the suspension while recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery that he underwent last August. He was set to miss the entire season anyway due to the injury. He hasn’t counted against the Astros’ 40-man roster this year because of the suspension but will need to be added on Wednesday. The Astros will have to make a corresponding move to clear a spot on their 40-man. They could move Joe Smith from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Smith has missed the entire season with a torn Achilles but is gearing up for a return to action fairly soon.

The substance in question in this case was Clomiphene. The good news, from the Astros’ perspective, is that the suspension will begin at the start of the regular season. The 23-year-old hurler is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected to return until late in the season, if at all, so he won’t really feel the punishment here.