It was late July of 2005 and the Mets unveiled their prized International signing, 16-year old outfielder Jesus Fernando Martinez. The ink was barely dry on his $1.4 million dollar signing bonus before he was taking batting practice in front of the Mets’ officials and players. It was another feather in the cap for the new man in charge, Omar Minaya, who told the New York Times Magazine that he expected the Mets to be a  ”a brand that will be wanted throughout the world” by the time Martinez made it to the big leagues.

When Martinez made his debut in 2009 the Mets were known throughout the baseball world, but it was more for being swindled by Bernie Madoff, Tony Bernazard‘s temper, and Minaya’s infamous accusations against beat reporter Adam Rubin. Three years later Minaya is gone and Martinez is on the way out the door after being removed from the 40 man roster and placed on waivers.

Martinez was routinely ranked as the Mets top prospect throughout his tenure. He was supposed to join David Wright and Jose Reyes,  for a while Lastings Milledge, to form a young core of homegrown positional players. Signed as a centerfielder, he would one day play alongside Carlos Beltran, eventually taking over centerfield. The team resisted every temptation to trade him, even refusing to add him to the Johan Santana deal. The problem with Martinez is the hype never matched the results. This was a common theme throughout Omar Minaya’s tenure, and Martinez symbolizes the hope and failures of the last five plus years.

I had an opportunity to interview Martinez and watch him play while in Binghamton in late August of 2008. He was a quiet and humble kid that tried to communicate with me despite the fact he struggled with the language. He was likable and someone you want to root for. On the field I watched him for two full days and came away unimpressed. Where were these tools that were touted? He was only 19, but 8 HRs and a .292 batting average in the Eastern League wasn’t all that impressive. Both Wright and Reyes dominated each minor league level while Martinez looked like every other pretty good player.

An arthritic knee is probably what will go down as the undoing of his career. Even in the best case scenario I don’t think Martinez was going to be anything more than a component player. He was criticized his first month in the big leagues for lack of hustle. He will probably be more remembered for falling on his face chasing a fly ball in Milwaukee than for his 2-run homer in Houston last year that started a huge Mets comeback. It’s terrible to say, but every time Martinez’s name was brought up I could only think of the failures of the organization. The fact that his career highlights fit into a couple of sentences tells you everything you need to know.

I noticed how there was some debate about the Mets decision to drop him from the roster. Sure he was a disappointment, but why give him away when there are still minor league options? I think it’s the best thing for Fernando Martinez. If he is ever going to have a career he needs a fresh start with an organization that never had his name at the top of their board. He needs to go where making an impact is a surprise versus an expectation. Ultimately, he needs to get away from being haunted by Los Mets.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Fernando Martinez, Los Mets, New York Mets, Omar Minaya