Baltimore Orioles sign Osvaldo Martinez to a Minor League Deal

On Monday, November 18th, the Baltimore Orioles signed infielder Osvaldo Martinez to a Minor League deal. The signing of Martinez will add some much needed depth at the shortstop position in the organization.

Martinez has had two short stints in the Majors before. On September 19th,2010 Martinez made his Major League debut. He would go on to play 13 more games that season and hit .326/.383/.465 with five extra-base hits and two RBI in those games. In 2011, he played in 20 games where he only recorded three base hits in 23 plate appearances.

Other than these 34 games in the Majors, Martinez has spent his career battling it out in the Minor Leagues.

Since being drafted by the Marlins in the 11th round of the 2006 MLB Draft, he has spent all nine seasons of his professional baseball career in the Minor Leagues. Most recently in 2014, he batted .254/.309/.325 with 18 extra-base hits and 33 RBI (playing  for the Chattanooga Lookouts [LAD] and the Gwinnett Braves [ATL]).

Defensively, Martinez plays mainly shortstop with a career .945 fielding percentage and 339 double plays turned while in the Minors. He also played significant time at second base and third base as well. In 91 games played at second, he maintained a .967 fielding percentage. In 83 games at third base, he had a .926 fielding percentage.

Looking at his numbers, nothing stands out about Martinez. He is an average batter with a below average glove. I do not foresee Martinez getting any playing time in  the Majors this upcoming season with the Baltimore Orioles, but obviously Dan Duquette saw something in him enough to sign him to a Minor League deal.