Detroit Tigers: Victor Martinez placed on DL with irregular heartbeat
The Detroit Tigers designated hitter remained hospitalized as of Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez left a game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh inning. The following day, it was announced that he had been placed on the 10-day DL with an irregular heartbeat and had been hospitalized. Along with placing Martinez on the DL, the team also called up catcher/first baseman John Hicks from Triple-A Toledo.
The #Tigers have placed DH Victor Martinez on the 10-day DL with an irregular heartbeat and recalled C/1B John Hicks from Triple-A Toledo.
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 16, 2017
According to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, manager Brad Ausmus said that more information regarding Martinez should be available on Saturday. Through 60 games this year, Martinez had been hitting .261/.337/.376 (93 OPS+) with five home runs and 29 RBI. It hasn’t been his best season up to this point, but the 38-year-old has remained relatively productive and is still a big presence in the Tigers’ batting order.
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The lineup without Martinez
With Martinez on the DL, Ausmus elected to use Miguel Cabrera in the DH spot in Friday’s 13-4 victory over the Rays. Cabrera, who has been dealing with a variety of injuries, hasn’t quite been having his typical MVP-type season, hitting “just” .281/.380/.449 (123 OPS+) with six home runs and 31 RBI through 53 games. Perhaps it will benefit him to see less time in the field as he works to battle through his injuries.
With Cabrera in the DH spot, the Tigers used Alex Avila at first base on Friday. Avila was essentially brought in to be the Tigers’ backup catcher to James McCann, but he has surprisingly been having his best year since 2011, hitting .313/.430/.611 (177 OPS+) with 10 home runs and 27 RBI thus far. Hicks has also impressed in his previous opportunities with the Tigers this season, hitting .300/.314/.560 (129 OPS+) with three home runs and 12 RBI.
The Tigers should be able to hold down the fort in Martinez’s absence, but it is clearly frightening to hear that a player has been hospitalized, and hopefully he can recover soon.
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Martinez, who first joined the Tigers in 2011, was the runner-up for the AL MVP in 2014. He is now in the third year of a four-year, $68 million deal he signed after that stellar season.