Marcelo Martinez
Marcelo Martinez is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the Wei Chuan Dragons of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He has previously played in the CPBL for the Rakuten Monkeys.
Career
Sultanes de Monterrey
On June 7, 2017, Martinez signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. In 4 appearances for Monterrey, Martinez recorded a 3.00 ERA with 3 strikeouts across 3 innings of work.Kansas City Royals
On March 7, 2018, Martinez signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. In 13 games split between the rookie-level Idaho Falls Chukars, rookie-level Burlington Royals, and Single-A Lexington Legends, he accumulated an aggregate 6–4 record and 2.74 ERA with 90 strikeouts across 69 innings pitched.Martinez spent the 2019 season split between Lexington and the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks. In 27 appearances split between the two affiliates, he compiled a combined 6–7 record and 4.07 ERA with 118 strikeouts and 2 saves across innings pitched. Martinez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martinez returned to action in 2021 with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. In 25 games for the two affiliates, he registered a cumulative 6–9 record and 5.11 ERA with 117 strikeouts across innings pitched. Martinez returned to the two affiliates in 2022, posting an aggregate 6–6 record and 6.17 ERA with 115 strikeouts over innings of work.
Martinez began the 2023 campaign with Triple-A Omaha, registering a 1–1 record and 4.29 ERA with 13 strikeouts across 9 appearances. Martinez was released by the Royals organization on June 27, 2023.
Sultanes de Monterrey (second stint)
On July 13, 2023, Martinez signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. In 5 games for the Sultanes down the stretch, Martinez logged a 2–0 record and 3.06 ERA with 17 strikeouts across innings pitched.Rakuten Monkeys
On February 7, 2024, Martinez signed with the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. In 24 starts for the Monkeys, he compiled a 13–3 record and 2.04 ERA with 114 strikeouts across innings pitched.On January 21, 2025, Martinez re-signed with Rakuten. In 25 starts for the team, he compiled a 13-8 record and 2.51 ERA with 98 strikeouts over 158 innings of work. With the Monkeys, Martinez won the 2025 Taiwan Series.