A glimpse of the future

Limited role expected for power-hitting prospect Martinez

- GREGOR CHISHOLM

The best power hitter the Blue Jays have in their system has made his long-awaited arrival, but fans might want to keep their expectations in check. Orelvis Martinez is in Toronto, except he's not here to take on a full-time role.

The Jays said earlier this season that they didn't want to promote Martinez to have him play only two to three times a week. His development in Triple-A Buffalo was the priority, not riding the bench in the big leagues.

That stance changed out of necessity Tuesday when the Jays announced that Martinez had been recalled from the minors as shortstop Bo Bichette was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right calf muscle. Bichette will be out until at least June 25.

"I'm not going to force him in, per se," Jays manager John Schneider said when asked about Martinez, who did not play in a 4-3 loss to Boston on Tuesday. "We still have guys that we trust and have confidence in.

"He's a young, exciting player. I think you get to the point where you watch how he responds, reacts, performs, along with everyone else we have. Whenever you're coming up to fill a need, it's not ideal. We'll see how he looks and how other people are going."