Guardians outfielder Angel Martínez begins rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus

Angel Martínez is closer to returning to the Cleveland Guardians’ lineup. On Friday, the club announced that the 24-year-old outfielder began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus, a step designed to test his health and playing readiness as he works back from a fractured left foot.

Martínez’s injury began on June 13, when he suffered a left foot fracture that was described as non-displaced. Three days later, on June 16, he was placed on the 10-day injured list, sidelining him during a stretch that required Cleveland to reshuffle its outfield options and manage playing time among its remaining healthy position players.

A rehab assignment in Triple-A typically functions as a multi-stage evaluation, letting a player ramp up from controlled action to game situations against a higher level of competition than in-house workouts. For the Guardians, that matters both for Martínez’s personal timeline and for how the organization plans roster usage, defensive alignments, and day-to-day lineup flexibility.

With Martínez starting his rehab in Columbus, the next checkpoints become his workload and how he responds in subsequent appearances. The club’s announcement frames this as “begins rehab assignment,” which implies a sequence rather than an immediate return to the majors. How quickly his foot tolerates running, outfield routes, and full-speed play will shape when Cleveland can consider activating him.

Because the injury was characterized as non-displaced, the medical implication is that the fracture did not require shifting alignment, though the recovery still depends on pain control and functional strength. Regardless of the fracture type, returning from a foot injury is often as much about restoring mobility and durability as it is about the initial healing.

The Guardians entered this phase with an outfield group expected to absorb additional innings while Martínez remained out. The team’s willingness to send him to Columbus underscores that Cleveland is aiming for a real evaluation, not just a symbolic milestone, before he rejoins the major-league roster.

Martínez will now be watched through the lens of a rehab progression: whether he stays on track physically and whether his performance allows the Guardians to plan his eventual re-entry without forcing an immediate rollback. For Cleveland, his return could stabilize the outfield picture and provide depth that is especially valuable as the schedule moves through late July.

For Guardians fans, Friday’s update offers the clearest timeline marker since the injury date. If Martínez continues to advance during his Triple-A stint, the organization will soon have a clearer decision window on activating him, and the outfield rotation can start aligning again around a fully available starter-caliber player.