Former 5-Year MLB Veteran Joins Minnesota Twins Organization in New Role

Jose "Cafecito" Martinez is transitioning into coaching. The Minnesota Twins hired the former major-league outfielder as a minor league hitting coach. Martinez announced that he had earned the new role earlier this week on X. The position marks his first coaching role in affiliated baseball. Neither Martinez nor the Twins identified which affiliate or level he will work with.

In his announcement, Martinez leaned into what the role means to him. “Today it is my turn to share what I learned as a ballplayer and to help others build their own path,” he wrote.

He closed with a message aimed at the players he will work with. “Never stop dreaming or envisioning your future. Dare to imagine how far you can go and get to work for it, even on those days when you still don’t see the result," he said.

Martinez spent five seasons in the majors and hit .289/.356/.447 with 43 home runs and 182 RBI across 432 games. He did his best work in St. Louis with the Cardinals, where he spent most of his career from 2016 to 2019.

Martinez hit .309 with 14 home runs in 106 games in 2017, then batted .305 with 17 home runs and 83 RBI in 152 games in 2018. Those two seasons established him as a legitimate bat in a Cardinals lineup that made him a fan favorite.

The Cardinals traded Martinez to Tampa Bay in January 2020 as part of the package that also sent Randy Arozarena to the Rays. Tampa Bay later dealt him to the Chicago Cubs that August.

He signed with the New York Mets before the 2021 season, but a left-knee meniscus tear ended his spring training after he planted awkwardly chasing a ball during a game. He had surgery, missed the season and never returned to the majors. He continued playing in Mexico and Venezuela before now transitioning to coaching.

The Twins finished 77-85 last season, third in the American League Central and eight games behind division champion Cleveland Guardians. Martinez will work at the minor-league level, where the Twins develop their next group of position players.

A coach who took a winding road to the majors, produced when he got there and then had his career cut short by injury brings a specific kind of credibility to young hitters working through their own obstacles.

The Twins have not released his specific assignment, but the hire adds an experienced bat to a development system that will need to produce if Minnesota is going to ever get back into contention.