Justin Martínez (born July 30, 2001) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Martínez signed with the

as an international free agent on March 5, 2018. He made his professional debut with the

Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks The Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks or DSL Diamondbacks, commonly called the DSL D-backs, are a Rookie League affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks based in the Dominican Republic. They play in the Baseball City Division of the Dominican Summ ...

. Martínez split the 2019 season between the DSL Diamondbacks, rookie–level

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields a ...

, and rookie–level

Missoula Osprey The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Pa ...

. In 18 games (10 starts) between the three affiliates, he recorded a 2.89 ERA with 78 strikeouts across 56 innings of work. Martínez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Martínez began the 2021 season with the Single–A

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...

, but underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

after only 7 starts. In 2022, he returned from the injury partway through the year. In 20 games split between the rookie–level

Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields a ...

, High–A

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League and are the High-A affilia ...

, Double–A

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtow ...

, and Triple–A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

, he accumulated a 3.32 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 38 innings of work. After the season, Martínez played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

, making it to the league's all-star game in November. On November 15, 2022, the Diamondbacks added Martínez to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Martínez was optioned to the Triple-A

to begin the 2023 season. In 25 games for the Triple–A

, he posted a 4.18 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 5 saves in 28 innings of work. On June 27, 2023, Martínez was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He went unused out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

and was optioned back to Reno on June 29, becoming a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Lea ...

. He was promoted for a second time on July 7, making his MLB debut the same day, allowing two runs in one inning against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. In 10 games during his rookie campaign, Martínez struggled to a 12.60 ERA with 14 strikeouts across 10 innings pitched. Martínez was again optioned to Triple–A Reno to begin the 2024 season. He made 64 appearances for the Diamondbacks, posting a 5-6 record and 2.48 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 8 saves across innings pitched. On March 21, 2025, Martínez and the Diamondbacks agreed to a five-year, $18 million contract extension. In 17 appearances for the team, he compiled a 1-2 record and 4.11 ERA with 22 strikeouts and five saves across innings pitched. On June 10, Martínez was placed on the injured list due to a right UCL sprain. Three days later, it was announced that Martínez would undergo

, ending his season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Justin 2001 births Living people Amarillo Sod Poodles players Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks players Hillsboro Hops players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Missoula Osprey players Baseball players from Bonao Reno Aces players Salt River Rafters players Visalia Rawhide players