Former Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez gets 85-game domestic violence suspension

Major League Baseball announced on Thursday that former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez accepted an 85-game suspension for violating the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

The league did not disclose which part of the policy Martinez violated, but it is one of the harshest penalties the league has handed out since 2015 when it was put in place.

The longest suspension was given to pitcher Trevor Bauer back in April when the league suspended him for two full seasons (324 games) after he faced sexual assault allegations. Sam Dyson and Jose Torres each had suspensions that topped 100 games. Hector Olivera (82 games), Domingo German (81 games) and Roberto Osuna (75 games) are the only other players to have suspensions top 70 games under the policy.

Martinez's suspension will be retroactive to June 19 and will also require him to enter a treatment program. It continues what has been a dramatic fall from grace for a pitcher who was once a rising star in the league. 

Martinez was a two-time All-Star (2015 and 2017) with the Cardinals during his nine-year run with the team, earning more than $52 million with St. Louis. He was limited to just 16 starts a year ago, ending an ineffective two-year run between the 2020 and 2021 seasons. 

He opened the 2022 season in the Boston Red Sox organization but was cut after just two weeks. At that point he was issued an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. 

Given his injury issues the past two years, on-field struggles when he has pitched and now these two substantial suspensions, he is facing a significant uphill battle when it comes to ever pitching in a Major League Baseball game again.