The Toronto Blue Jays removed 30-year-old outfielder Rudy Martin Jr. from their 40-man major-league roster and sent him outright to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons after he cleared waivers. The transaction took place on Thursday, October 29, according to the MLB transaction log, and the club officially announced the move on Friday.
Removing Martin trims Toronto’s 40-man roster to 38 players ahead of Monday’s offseason roster compliance deadline, BVM Sports reported. Because Martin has been outrighted previously in his career, including by the Blue Jays on August 10, he has the right to reject the Triple-A assignment and elect free agency, Mark Polishuk reported for MLB Trade Rumors.
The roster cut comes less than two months after Martin finally reached the major leagues on September 11, more than 12 years after the Kansas City Royals selected him in the 25th round (753rd overall) of the 2014 MLB Draft. He appeared in two big-league games for Toronto against the Baltimore Orioles on September 11 and September 12, going 0-for-2 with one walk and one strikeout.
Toronto placed him on the 10-day injured list on September 14, retroactive to September 13, with a left hamstring strain, TSN reported. The club activated him on September 28, though he did not appear in another major-league game.
Across 411 career Triple-A plate appearances, the left-handed hitter has batted .246/.342/.406 with 14 home runs and 32 stolen bases in 37 attempts. Polishuk noted for MLB Trade Rumors that Martin’s speed and ability to cover all three outfield spots make him an intriguing depth option for teams seeking outfield help this winter, whether he stays with Buffalo or tests the open market.
Martin took a winding 12-year path to the majors. After spending the 2015 through 2022 seasons in the Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals minor-league systems without a big-league call-up, he played outside MLB-affiliated baseball in 2023, 2024, and early 2025. Those stops included the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen, the Atlantic League’s York Revolution (where he stole a franchise-record 78 bases in 2024), and the Mexican League’s Toros de Tijuana.
Kansas City re-signed Martin to a minor-league contract on May 6, 2025, and traded him to the Baltimore Orioles for cash on July 18, 2026, during a minor-league campaign in which he stole 45 bases in 91 games. Five days later, on July 23, Toronto claimed him off waivers from Baltimore. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment on August 7 and outrighted him to Buffalo on August 10 before selecting his contract back to the major-league roster on September 11.
When he arrived in Toronto for his debut, Blue Jays beat reporter Keegan Matheson wrote on MLB.com that Martin’s late-game pinch-running and defensive bench role mirrored the ones Myles Straw filled during Toronto’s 2025 postseason run and Dalton Pompey held in 2015. Asked by Matheson that day whether he ever thought his big-league dream might never come true, Martin replied, “Yeah. A week ago.” He told MLB.com that being designated for assignment twice in a month and a half left him nervous about his next move as clubs shifted toward calling up younger prospects late in the year, and added that reaching the majors meant a great deal to him as he worked to show his younger brother that he could make it too.
Martin now has the option to accept the assignment to Triple-A Buffalo or elect free agency as the Blue Jays finalize their roster ahead of Monday’s compliance deadline.