Mystery injury forces Dodgers’ J.D. Martinez to sit out against A’s
J.D. Martinez has had all sorts of injuries in his 13-year career, but none as perplexing as the one that knocked the Dodgers designated hitter out of the last two Sunday games. This injury, which is producing tightness in his left hamstring and groin, has stumped the panel.
“Nobody knows, including myself,” Martinez said when asked before Wednesday night’s game against Oakland if he knew exactly what his injury is. “It’s weird because it tightens up on me, and then I can’t even walk, and all of a sudden, a day later, I feel perfectly fine.
“The same thing happened in Texas right before the game, boom. We’re trying to figure out what’s causing it, what’s triggering it. The MRIs look good, so I think it might be some kind of fatigue or something.”
Martinez, batting .260 with an .872 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 25 home runs and 75 RBIs, returned to action two days after being scratched from that July 23 game in Texas, but this injury is either a little more serious or the Dodgers are being more cautious with it.
Even with Monday’s day off, Martinez probably will sit out the three-game series against the Athletics. He hit in the cage Wednesday and plans to take batting practice on the field Thursday.
“It’s hard to pinpoint, but I think the epicenter is the back, which is kind of manifesting itself in the hamstrings and the groin area,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He will probably do more of a full workout [Thursday], so best-case scenario is he could potentially be available [Thursday night].”
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Martinez had completed his pregame routine and was watching video with batting coach Robert Van Scoyoc on July 23 when his groin locked up.
“I was watching video for like two seconds, I got up, and it grabbed right away,” Martinez said. “I took the next day off, and it just went away. I played the next four days and didn’t feel it at all.”
Martinez completed his pregame routine again Sunday, taking swings in the cage, stretching on the field and starting wind sprints in the outfield when the injury flared up again.
“I came up [to the clubhouse] and couldn’t even walk,” Martinez said. “Like, I’m at the point where I might need help going to my car. And then that night, I’m walking fine. If we were in the playoffs, I’d be playing today. But we want to give it a couple of days for it to settle down so I don’t have to deal with this all year.”
No hard feelings
Mookie Betts, who played with pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez for the World Series-winning Boston Red Sox in 2018, said he felt no ill will toward the left-hander after Rodriguez invoked his no-trade clause to nix a potential trade from the Detroit Tigers to the Dodgers on Tuesday.
“It was kind of surprising, but you never know what somebody’s going through in their life, man, so you take their answers, and life goes on,” Betts said. “It’s got nothing to do with me.”
Betts was one of several Dodgers to reach out to Rodriguez, who is 7-5 with a 2.96 ERA in 16 starts, earlier in the week in an attempt to lure him to Los Angeles. Rodriguez, who preferred to stay in Detroit to be closer to his family in Miami, did not respond until Wednesday.
“He said, ‘Bro, love you, sorry I didn’t get back to you the other day, but I need to take care of my family, I’ve got to do what’s best for me and my family,’ ” Betts said. “Can’t do nothing but respect that. Even if he said, ‘I just don’t want to become a Dodger,’ that’s fine with me. As long as he’s happy, he’s good, he’s feeling good, that’s all I care about.”
Pitching plans
It appears that Bobby Miller, who is scheduled to start the opener of a four-game series in San Diego on Friday night, will be the last rookie right-hander in the rotation after Clayton Kershaw returns from a shoulder injury next week.
Roberts said that Michael Grove, who fell to 2-3 with a 6.75 ERA after giving up eight runs and 10 hits in six innings of Sunday’s 9-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, will move to the bullpen Friday.
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There also is a chance that Grove, bumped in the rotation by Lance Lynn, could be demoted to triple A to clear a roster spot for left-handed swingman Ryan Yarbrough, who was acquired from Kansas City on Tuesday and will join the Dodgers on Friday.
The manager added that Emmet Sheehan, who is 3-1 with a 5.77 ERA in seven starts, also could pitch in relief but that Miller, who is 6-2 with a 4.37 ERA in 11 starts, would not be a candidate for a bullpen role.
“No. 1, he hasn’t done it, and No. 2, he’s pitching the best [of the three],” Roberts said. “He’s pretty much been the most dependable, so it doesn’t seem like it makes much sense to change roles.”
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