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That stance changed out of necessity Tuesday when the Jays announced that Martinez had been recalled from the minors as shortstop Bo Bichette was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right calf muscle. Bichette will be out until at least June 25.

“I’m not going to force him in, per se,” Jays manager John Schneider said when asked about Martinez, who did not play in a 4-3 loss to Boston on Tuesday. “We still have guys that we trust and have confidence in.

“He’s a young, exciting player. I think you get to the point where you watch how he responds, reacts, performs, along with everyone else we have. Whenever you’re coming up to fill a need, it’s not ideal. We’ll see how he looks and how other people are going.”

Martinez was handed Bichette’s spot on the roster, but he’s not taking the two-time all star’s place in the lineup. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will become the starting shortstop with Ernie Clement as his backup.

The 22-year-old Martinez will be mostly limited to second base, which is less than ideal because the Jays are already using multiple players there. Davis Schneider has appeared in 25 games at second, and new leadoff man Spencer Horwitz has made all but one of his eight starts there.

Third base might be an option, but not very often. While Martinez appeared in 17 games there for Buffalo, the Jays have already determined they like him better at second. That means Clement, who hit a two-run double in the second inning Tuesday, will get first dibs at third with Addison Barger next in line.

The most obvious scenario for Martinez to get at-bats is against left-handed pitching. The Dominican has a 1.067 OPS against lefties in Buffalo this season, compared to an .804 mark against righties. Sitting Horwitz and starting Schneider in the outfield against left-handers makes that possible.

Unfortunately for Martinez, the Jays won’t face any lefty starters during the current series against the Red Sox and, with Cleveland’s Logan Allen set to start Thursday versus Seattle, they likely won’t face any against the Guardians over the weekend.

That means, beyond a token start or two, Martinez might be limited to entering games as a power threat off the bench unless Bichette’s injury becomes a longer-term issue.

“He has a special bat,” Schneider said of Martinez, who was hitting .260 with 16 home runs and an .867 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for the Bisons. “Finding the right spot is going to be something we’ll try to do and work him in with the guys who are here.”

The Jays initially were optimistic Bichette would avoid the injured list. He experienced soreness following a game against the Guardians last week and was listed as day to day, but once the Jays determined he would be out until at least Friday they decided to make the move.

This marks the fourth time in six seasons that the former second-round pick has been placed on the IL and each incident involved his right leg, which the Jays believe is a fluke more than it is concerning.

If there’s one positive to losing a franchise star for an extended stretch, it’s that the break might provide Bichette with a reset. The 26-year-old has been underperforming all year, batting .237 with a .629 OPS, down from his previous averages of .299 and .827.

“The big thing is it allows us to be more aggressive with (Bichette’s) treatment right now and hopefully it expedites it a little bit,” Schneider said. “If it comes down to you are sacrificing a couple games that he could have played in, I think long term, for him and us, it’s for the best.”

Martinez’s arrival alongside Horwitz and Barger would appear to indicate that the Jays’ youth movement is officially on. Except that won’t really be the case as long as struggling veterans like George Springer, Kevin Kiermaier and Justin Turner continue to start a lot of games.

Maybe a big blast or two from Martinez will help speed up that process. He possesses as much raw power as anyone on the roster not named Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But when that will be displayed in full remains to be seen.