According to Francys Romero of beisbolfr.com, Cuban outfielder Orlando Martinez signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros after opening the 2025 season in Liga Mexicana de Béisbol with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes.
Martinez, represented by Gladys Alonso of A&F Sports Agency, will report to Double-A Corpus Christi.
Sources: Cuban OF Orlando Martínez (27) has signed a Minor League deal with the Houston Astros.
Martínez is represented by Gladys Alonso of A&F Sports Agency and will report to Double-A Corpus Christi.
He was dominating the Mexican League with 371 AVG, 16 HR and 48 RBI. pic.twitter.com/gWWnWG4myB
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) June 22, 2025
The 27-year-old left-handed slugger from La Habana, Cuba, hit .364/.415/.689 with 82 hits, 25 doubles, 16 home runs, and 48 RBI across 54 games and 248 plate appearances for Aguascalientes before joining Houston. He also drew 20 walks, struck out 38 times, and stole two bases.
In the 2024-25 winter season, Martinez appeared in 19 games for the Criollos de Caguas in Puerto Rico’s Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente, slashing .295/.384/.426 with 18 hits, five doubles, one home run, nine RBI, three stolen bases, nine walks, and 13 strikeouts in 73 plate appearances.
In 2024, he played across three levels of the Los Angeles Angels organization—Arizona Complex League, Double-A Rocket City, and Triple-A Salt Lake—after starting the season on the 7-day injured list. He logged 91 games total, hitting .267 with 84 hits, 16 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 37 RBI, seven steals, 50 walks, 56 strikeouts, and a .740 OPS.
Martinez originally signed with the Angels on August 30, 2017, and spent six seasons in their system, reaching Triple-A from 2022 to 2024. He was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2023.
Through 576 career minor league games, Martinez owns a .269 average with 591 hits, 126 doubles, 18 triples, 59 home runs, 314 RBI, 43 steals, 213 walks, 509 strikeouts, and a .756 OPS over 2,451 plate appearances.
Corpus Christi will open a six-game home series Tuesday, June 24, against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EDT at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas.
All minor league games are available on Bally Sports.