KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Sometime in the middle of Saturday afternoon’s split-squad spring training game against the Atlanta Braves, Brad Ausmus heard the news: An hour west on Interstate 4, at Joker Marchant Stadium, J.D. Martinez was injured.
The Tigers’ right fielder reportedly rolled his ankle making a catch in the first inning of the team’s split-squad game against the Miami Marlins and, after receiving X-ray tests, was spotted on crutches.
Martinez — so crucial to this team’s postseason chances — sustained a mid-right foot sprain, according to the team. Those X-rays were negative. He will be re-evaluated on Sunday morning and that’s all Ausmus had been briefed on.
“I just don’t know how bad it is,” he said. “You re-evaluate tomorrow. It depends on how bad the sprain is. Obviously he won’t play tomorrow. We won’t play him on Monday now and he’s got Tuesday off. At the earliest, he can play Thursday if need be.”
That schedule, as to be determined as they come, would represent the best-case scenario for Martinez. Depending on the severity of the sprain, his availability for the start of the regular season could be in jeopardy.
The mid-foot area is between the ball of the foot and ankle, constructed by a number of small bones that make the arch.
The good news for Martinez is the X-rays showed no broken bones. The sprain, then, involves the ligaments that hold the bones together and stabilize the arch. Those ligaments could be stretched or torn.
There are several ligaments in the mid-foot area, some more critical than others. The most important of those ligaments is the ‘Lisfranc’ ligament, which the Tigers are hoping was not compromised.
Ausmus said a MRI test is not a given; that it all depends on how Martinez feels when he shows up to the ballpark Sunday.
“If he comes in tomorrow and there’s some significant worsening, then you might do a MRI,” he said. “But we’ll probably wait and see how he is in the morning first.”
The news is certainly concerning for the Tigers, who are counting on Martinez to be a middle-of-the-order bat. The team believed they would have reached the postseason last season had they not fallen victim to a number of big injuries, including Martinez’s broken elbow, which cost him six weeks.
Martinez, 29, is scheduled to hit free agency after the season. In 2016, he hit .307 with 22 home runs and 68 RBIs. In three seasons with the Tigers, he has hit .299 and averaged 28 home runs and 82 RBI each season.