Carlos Ernesto Martínez (born September 21, 1991), nicknamed "Tsunami", is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican League.

Originally signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2009, MLB voided his contract due to discrepancies over his name and date of birth after the revelation that he was also known as Carlos Matias.

Carlos Martínez was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, in a rural zone called Colinas del Sur, where official record-keeping is sometimes poor.

[2] The young Martínez originally had plans to become a priest but changed his mind soon after starting to catch the attention of major league scouts.

[3] Raised with his uncle's last name, some confusion eventually ensued when he attempted to secure a work visa to pitch in the United States.

Projections were made that his body would fill out, and thus, increase the velocity and movement of his pitches, including a fastball up to 95 miles per hour (153 km/h).

[5] He signed for $140,000; however, a routine background check by Major League Baseball (MLB) officials raised several questions about the veracity of both his name and his date of birth.

[8] Returning to Palm Beach to commence the 2012 season, shoulder tendonitis began to bother him after just seven starts and the Cardinals placed him on the disabled list (DL).

[7] The Cardinals recalled Martínez on August 8 after stretching out his innings workload with Memphis to bring his endurance back to being sufficient to handle the rigors of starting pitching.

The next night, Martínez made his first major league start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching five innings and giving up four earned runs.

[19] The Cardinals played him in the 2013 National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he made three total appearances, giving up two runs in two IP.

Against the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series (NLCS), he appeared in four games, giving up no runs while allowing just one hit, one walk, and striking out four in 4+2⁄3 IP.

In the World Series against the Red Sox, he appeared in five games, pitched six innings, giving up five hits, three runs and one walk while striking out five.

He made his third major league start and won his first on June 22, pitching five innings and yielding three earned runs in a 5–3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

[25] In December, Martínez changed his uniform number from 44 to 18 to commemorate his friend and teammate, Oscar Taveras, who had died in a car accident two weeks after the 2014 NLCS.

[26] For the first time in his career in 2015, Martínez made the Cardinals starting rotation, earning the fifth starter spot out of spring training.

When the inning ended, Martínez flashed an obscene gesture on full public display toward the visitors' dugout with Rockies players and personnel.

Corresponding aggressive verbal exchanges ensued, including those between Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado; no brawls started.

[38] He finished in the top ten in the NL in ERA, won-lost percentage, SO/9, wins, home runs per nine innings allowed, and wild pitches.

MLB did not contact the Cardinals at the time, but had recently updated their personal conduct policy, especially if any player had committed such an offensive of domestic violence.

[42] On April 2, 2017, Martinez pitched his first Opening Night start of his career, playing the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium.

[43] At Yankee Stadium on April 15, Martínez struck out 11 batters, and walked eight, becoming the first to record both those marks in the same game since Randy Johnson in 1993.

[44] On June 10, Martinez pitched both his first career complete game and shutout while allowing four hits as the Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7–0.

[66] On September 1, 2022, Martínez was suspended again by MLB for 85 games after violating the Major League Baseball Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, retroactive to June 19.

[20] The high-velocity, electric fastball that originally caught the attention of Red Sox scouts when Martínez was 17 has developed into an elite-level pitch beyond initial expectations.

Because his arm speed generates immense recoil, he finishes off-balance, leaving him in an awkward position to field certain batted balls.

His fastball is graded at 70 on a standard 20–80 scale, with a volatile life that vaults itself on batters, making it difficult for them to square their bats, and thus, hit effectively.

Also a power pitch, it averages 82.5 miles per hour (132.8 km/h) with −2.16 inches (−55 mm) of vertical break, and has proven to be effective in garnering swing-and-miss strikes.

He naturally operates high in the strike zone, so working down will shift the hitters' eye levels in addition to the confounding movement of the fastball and curveball.

[76] Whether there have been any concerns about effectiveness related to Martínez' lack of physical stature, his career minor league numbers have minimized them through 2013.