Ángel Martínez (baseball)

Ángel Martínez (born January 27, 2002) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Ángel Martínez
Martínez with the Cleveland Guardians in 2024
Cleveland Guardians – No. 1
Infielder
Born: (2002-01-27) January 27, 2002 (age 23) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 22, 2024, for the Cleveland Guardians
MLB statistics (through 2024 season)
Batting average	.232
Home runs	3
Runs batted in	11
Teams
Cleveland Guardians (2024–present)

Professional career

Ángel Martínez, infielder with the Cleveland Guardians during Guards Fest at Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland on January 21, 2023.

Martínez signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent on July 2, 2018.^[1] He made his professional debut in 2019 with the Dominican Summer League Indians, hitting .306/.402/.428 with one home run, 27 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.^[2] Martínez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Martínez returned to action in 2021 with the Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats, playing in 97 games and slashing .241/.319/.382 with seven home runs, 46 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.^[4] He split the 2022 campaign between the High-A Lake County Captains and Double–A Akron RubberDucks. In 102 games split between the two affiliates, Martínez accumulated a .278/.378/.471 batting line with 13 home runs, 44 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.^[5]

On November 15, 2022, the Guardians added Martínez to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Martínez was optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to begin the 2023 season.^[6] In 136 games split between the Akron and Columbus, he hit a combined .251/.321/.394 with 14 home runs, 79 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.

Martínez began the 2024 season on the major league 10-day injured list after suffering a foot contusion in spring training. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 17, 2024, after it was announced he would undergo surgery to repair a hamate fracture in his right wrist.^[7] On May 29, Martínez was activated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A Columbus.^[8] On June 21, Martínez was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.^[9]

Personal life

His father, Sandy Martínez, played in MLB from 1995 to 2004, for 6 different teams.^[10] His cousin, Michael Martínez, played in MLB from 2011 to 2017, including parts of 3 seasons with Cleveland, and currently plays for the High Point Rockers.^[11][12]