St. Louis Cardinals: Might Carlos Martinez’s career be over?

After an 80-game PED suspension, might former St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez’s career be over?

At one point, Carlos Martinez looked destined to be atop the St. Louis Cardinals rotation for the long haul. He was an ultra talented pitcher who could throw it in the upper-90s and had high-end breaking pitches to complement it.

Then Martinez began to battle injuries and his career began to sidetrack. After posting ERAs that ranged from 3.01 to 3.11 from 2015 to 2018, Martinez threw only 48.1 innings in 2019. He posted a 9.90 ERA in 20 innings in 2020 and then a 6.23 ERA in 82.1 innings in 2021 before mysteriously vanishing for the second half of the season.

The Cardinals declined Martinez’s club option, putting an end to his nine-year career in St. Louis. He signed with the San Francisco Giants on a minor-league contract with the hope to revitalize his career only to be released weeks later. He signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox during the season, but was almost immediately released after posting a 20.77 ERA in 4.1 innings (nine hits, 10 runs).

Now, Martinez has been suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for Ibutamoren, a performance-enhancing substance.

It could put the end to what has been an incredibly frustrating career for Martinez. It’s possible that some team gives him a chance considering his talent and past performance just to see what they can do for his career. But at this point, nothing is guaranteed, and it’s entirely possible that his major-league career is over.

If it is, Martinez will have posted a 3.74 ERA in 967 career innings to go along with a 927/373 strikeout-to-walk ratio. While the numbers are good on the surface, he was capable of so much more, and makes you wonder what would have been possible had he reached his full potential.