Blue Jays call up 30-year-old Rudy Martin Jr. after 12 years in minor leagues

After 12 years in the minor leagues, 30-year-old Rudy Martin Jr. is being called up to the majors and could have the opportunity to contribute to a playoff race.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced that Martin was being promoted from Triple-A Buffalo and will join the team for Friday's game versus the Baltimore Orioles .

At 73-74, Toronto is one game behind the Cleveland Guardians (74-73) for the American League's third wild-card playoff spot . The Blue Jays are also two games ahead of the Orioles (71-76) in the playoff standings.

To clear a spot on the roster for Martin, Jesús Sánchez (.260 average, 8 home runs, .734 OPS) was designated for assignment.

Martin was originally a 25th-round draft pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2014 out of Lewisburg High School in Olive Branch, Mississippi. (The MLB Draft was reduced to 20 round in 2021.) He spent six years in the Royals' organization, getting as high as Triple-A before opting for free agency.

Signing with the Nationals, Martin spent one season in Washington's minor-league system, eventually advancing to its Double-A affiliate. After the 2022 campaign, he played in an independent league and Mexican winter league for two seasons before rejoining the Royals organization in 2025, playing mostly in Double-A.

This year, Martin began the season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas before moving up to Triple-A Omaha. He was then traded to the Orioles on July 18, who designated him for assignment two days later, according to MLB.com . On July 23, Martin was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays.

With Buffalo, Martin had a .253/.351/.379 slash average with 3 home runs, 11 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Overall, he's slashed .274/.394/.421 with 11 homers and 45 steals. He's a career .252 hitter with a .745 OPS.

Martin will presumably provide a left-handed bat and pinch-running speed on Toronto's bench. He is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game.