The former catcher and longtime TV analyst is replacing Jamie Campbell as the team's new voice on Rogers Sportsnet, the sports network announced Thursday.

"I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to call play-by-play, and living up to the great tradition that has been established by Tom Cheek, Jim Hughson and Dan Shulman," Martinez said in a release.

Rogers Sportsnet airs the vast majority of the team's games.

Martinez spent six seasons with the Blue Jays as a player and later moved into broadcasting as a TV colour man from 1987-2000. He and play-by-play man Shulman formed one of the team's most beloved announcing teams.

Martinez returned to the Blue Jays dugout as manager in 2001 but was fired 53 games into the 2002 season by then GM J.P. Ricciardi.

Following his dismissal, Martinez went back to the booth as an analyst with ESPN and in 2003 he became part of the Baltimore Orioles' TV broadcast team. He's also recently done some colour work for American channel TBS.

Campbell, who will call freestyle skiing and snowboarding for Sportsnet at the Olympics, is expected to be reassigned at the network. He'd been the team's announcer since 2005.

The fate of the network's three analysts - Pat Tabler, Rance Mulliniks and Darrin Fletcher - was not announced. Rick Briggs-Jude, Sportsnet's vice-president of production, said Martinez will not be working alone but did not elaborate.