Detroit Tigers: J.D. Martinez to Have Foot Injury Re-evaluated

The Detroit Tigers announced on Thursday at that outfielder J.D. Martinez was going back to doctors to have his foot injury re-evaluated.

Detroit Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez might be having a setback in his road to recovery from the foot sprain he suffered in spring training. Details are slim at this point, but reports have surfaced that he’s going back to see his doctor for further evaluation.

Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reported yesterday that Martinez had his cast removed earlier in the week. It seemed that he was due to increase his activity level after the cast came off.

"“He said they worked on it pretty good yesterday,” Ausmus said. “I think it was just moving it around, manipulating it, loosening it up.”"

It’s not clear if returning to the doctor is a standard step in the process after the cast came off, but it sounds like it caught beat writers by surprise. It might be that Martinez felt an increase in discomfort level after being up on the foot without the cast.

The Tigers were hoping that Martinez could return to the major league club by the end of the month, but a setback now would extend that timeline. Hopefully everything checks out as normal and he will be allowed to return to the playing field in short order.

The Tigers will want to allow Martinez as much time as necessary to fully heal before he returns. Allowing the injury to linger for the entirety of the season isn’t in anyone’s best interest.

UPDATE: It sounds like his recovery is still on track and that everything is still going according to plan and we have no new cause for alarm. Martinez will continue his rehab process in Lakeland.

Next: 5 Ways for Tigers to Win AL Central in 2017

The Tigers will have to continue to rely on the platoon of Tyler Collins and Mikie Mahtook in right field while they wait for Martinez to return to full health.