Blue Jays’ Orelvis Martinez suspended 80 games for PED violation

Toronto Blue Jays’ top prospect and infielder Orelvis Martinez has been suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball for a performance-enhancing drug (PED) violation, the league announced on Sunday.

Martinez issued a statement through the MLB Players Association (MLBPA), revealing that he and his girlfriend had been trying to start a family together, and he was prescribed a treatment called Rejun 50 through a fertility clinic in the Dominican Republic.

“Unfortunately, Rejun 50 contains a banned substance called clomiphene,” reads the statement. “We wanted to keep this matter private, even within our family and trusted the doctor who assured us this treatment did not include performance-enhancing drugs. Therefore, I made the mistake of not disclosing this to my team or the MLBPA.”

Clomiphene is a medication used primarily in the treatment of infertility in women. It belongs to a class of drugs called selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). In some cases, clomiphene may also be prescribed off-label to treat male infertility by stimulating the production of testosterone and improving sperm production.

Martinez said he takes full responsibility for the suspension and apologized to the Blue Jays and Bisons organizations.

“I will learn from this experience and come back to the field in September.”