SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2024
EXPLORERS ADD VETERAN MARTINEZ
FORMER MAJOR LEAGUER JOINS SIOUX CITY
SIOUX CITY, IA – The Sioux City Explorers have announced the club has signed veteran infielder/outfielder and former Major Leaguer Osvaldo Martínez. Martinez is in the lineup tonight and will bat fourth for the X’s, wearing number seven, in the first game of a three-game series with the Chicago Dogs at Lewis and Clark Park.
The veteran of 18 professional seasons has spent each of the last three seasons in the American Association following two years in the Atlantic League. Across five seasons in MLB Partner Leagues, he has hit .269 with a .695 OPS across 454 games. Martinez spent last year with the Sioux Falls Canaries, playing in 71 games across the season. In total, the righty bat earned a .277 batting average to pair with a .352 on-base percentage. This included a stretch of games from July 29 to Aug. 17 where he batted .357 against teams like Milwaukee, Fargo-Moorhead and eventual champions Kansas City. 2022 was Martinez’s first year with the Canaries, and throughout the season, he posted a .271 batting average with a .697 OPS over 86 games.
Martinez was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 11th round of the 2006 MLB Draft out of Porterville College (CA) and would climb the ladder and make his major league debut with the Marlins as a September call-up from AA Jacksonville in 2010. He finished the season in the MLB, playing 14 games and scoring eight runs while batting .326 with an .848 OPS. He recorded four doubles and a triple while getting on base at a .383 clip. Martinez would split the 2011 season between the Florida Marlins and AAA New Orleans. He played in 20 games for the MLB squad, hitting .130 with three hits and an RBI.
The native of Carolina, Puerto Rico has played in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins organizations in his career. He has played 14 seasons of Winter Ball in Puerto Rico and six seasons in MLB Partner Leagues in his career. Martinez is a career .257 hitter with 78 home runs and 628 RBI in all 18 combined seasons.
The Explorers and Chicago Dogs begin the weekend series with game one tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Mercy One Field at Lewis and Clark Park. For more information or for media requests, please feel free to reach out at 817-739-3693. Tickets for the season can be purchased online as XSBaseball.com, in person at the Lewis and Clark Park Box Office or by calling 712-277-WINS. You can catch all the X’s action on aabaseball.tv and on radio at KSCJ 94.9 FM and 1360 AM.