Victor Martinez needs knee surgery, may miss opening day
When opening day rolls around, the Detroit Tigers certainly won’t have departed free agent Max Scherzer, and now they may not have 2014 MVP runner-up Victor Martinez either.
The team announced Thursday that Martinez tore the meniscus in his left knee last week, during his offseason workout program, and now needs knee surgery. The team didn’t give a timetable for Martinez’s return, but the recovery time from such a surgery can be as quick as 4-6 weeks, or 6-8 weeks if things don’t move so fast.
Here’s the Tigers’ statement on the matter:
We can only speculate until after the procedure is finished and we get official word, but it sounds like Martinez won’t be ready for opening day. If he misses 4-6 weeks — which, remember, is the best-case scenario — his spring training will be cut short and he’ll be trying to catch up.
And keep in mind that Martinez is 36, so we’re not talking about a 26-year-old bouncing back from surgery. Martinez had surgery on his left knee once, in 2012, but that was a much bigger deal. He tore his ACL and missed the entire season — an injury that also happened during offseason workouts.
The Tigers signed Martinez to a four-year, $68 million contract in November, so their main concern with him isn’t if he misses a dozen games in April. He’s a long-term investment. Having a healthy Martinez for most of the season is crucial, though, because the team’s window to get back to the World Series is starting to close some.
Both he and Miguel Cabrera are aging and have become more injury-prone. David Price and Yoenis Cespedes are free agents after the season. Justin Verlander, well, he’s a mystery. Point is: the Tigers need Martinez to be productive — and on two good knees — if they’re going to make the postseason for the fifth straight season.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
