Julio Martinez

Julio Pablo Martinez Sanchez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 157 lb.

• Born 1996 in Cuba

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Julio Martinez, also known as Julio Pablo Martinez, began playing in Cuba's Serie Nacional in 2012-13, when he hit .214 in 40 games for Guantanamo at the age of 16. He returned to the Serie Nacional for the next four seasons, spending time with three different teams: Guantanamo, Isla de la Juventud and Camagüey. He improved every season, his best year coming in 2016-17 when he .333 in 61 games, with 11 doubles, 6 homers and 27 RBIs in a season split between Guantanamo and Camagüey. The following summer, 2016, he was part of the Cuban national team that made a tour through the Can-Am Association. He hit .231 in 19 games. In 2017, he joined the league full-time, as a member of the Trois-Rivières Aigles, where he played 57 games and hit .297 with 7 homers and 21 RBIs.

Martinez played for the Cuban 18-and-under national team in 2014 and 2015. Following the 2017 season, he defected from Cuba in order to join organized baseball. He needed to establish residency in order to become eligible for an international signing period, where he was expected to draw large bonus offers, something which he did in early 2018, making him eligible to be signed between March 6th and June 15th. As a player under the age of 23, he was subject to international bonus rules, however, limiting the amount of money teams could offer for his services. The Texas Rangers, who had accumulated a stash of international bonus money thanks to some early spring training trades, quickly emerged as favorites to sign him and a deal was reached on the first day Martinez was eligible to be signed. It was reported on April 19th that they had offered a bonus of $2.8 million and that Martinez would begin his career with the DSL Rangers.

Further Reading

• Ben Weinrib: "Outfielder Martinez reportedly leaves Cuba: 21-year-old will establish residency in another country before signing", mlb.com, November 8, 2017. [1]