News Of Victor Martinez’s Knee Huge For The Detroit Tigers
As news trickled in last week of Victor Martinez tearing his meniscus during off-season workouts, Detroit Tigers fans all collectively held their breaths.
After all there was still the real chance that Miguel Cabrera may be sidelined to start the season.
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General Manager Dave Dombrowski commented initially that nobody knew the severity of the injury. Best-case scenario seemed to be 4-6 weeks and he’d be ready for Opening Day like the rest of the squad.
Worst case scenario was that he’d need till the All-Star break to recover and rehab. Heck, seeing how Ryan Howard missed the rest of the 2013 season with a similar injury the timetable would’ve been much longer.
If that were the case the Tigers would be starting the 2015 campaign without their two biggest bats potentially. It would also bring in the question of who would fill in the first base void.
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While the Tigers could have chosen an alternate route and looked toward an internal replacement at first base they wouldn’t have been near the Miguel Cabrera-Martinez duo from recent years.
The news that Martinez will be only be missing 4-6 weeks and be ready for Opening Day is now huge for the Tigers. With a later Opening Day than earlier years all reports have him ready to be inserted into the lineup come 2015.
While it’s still up in the air if he’ll be ready to play first base his bat will be much-needed in this lineup. After all there still seems to be some holes that the Tigers might be overlooking.
With question marks to the offense and a revamped American League Central the Tigers are going to need to scrap together every win possible.
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After all, the last two years they’ve won the AL Central by the slimmest of margins of 1 game. These early games in April will prove to be vital later into 2015.
While it’s not reassuring to hear that Martinez has another knee injury after his pre-2012 catastrophe Tigers fans should sleep well knowing that he should be ready when his number is called.
A (potentially much) shorter Spring Training may have its effect on Martinez though. Getting in-game shape and getting regular at-bats while doing so especially at an older age should be beneficial to the 36-year-old Martinez.
He did have a tough first half to the 2013 season coming off his injured 2012. Though that could be more attributed to missing the entire season than a couple at-bats during Spring Training.
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In terms of his actual offensive production in 2015 it would be foolish for the Tigers to expect the same Martinez from 2014. He had a career year in the last season of his contract and a similar output would be unexpected.
If he can be a reliable offensive contributor in the middle of one of the best offenses in the American League it’ll be huge though. Somewhere around .300/.365/.490 would be huge for this lineup especially as the cleanup hitter.
The news of Martinez’s health should be a joy to Tigers fans everywhere. He’s the true sense of the word professional and helps bolster the clubhouse. With Torii Hunter gone Martinez might need to step up in that regard.
While it is good news that Martinez won’t be missing an extended period he needs to stay healthier during the off-season. Signing a 4-year contract with the Tigers means that his immediate and long-term future is clearly relevant to this team.
They can’t afford to have him be an albatross in years 3 and 4 if they want to continue to succeed for a World Series birth. His health will have to be closely monitored from now on.
For now though the Tigers and their fans should rejoice to this good news. While it’s certainly worse than no injury Martinez only missing 4-6 weeks compared to an extended absence is great news.
Now, your thoughts. How do you feel about the news about Martinez? Great? Skeptical? Meh? Whatever the case, this is huge for the Tigers if they plan to compete in 2015. A healthy Victor Martinez has the potential to do wonders for this offense.