The Detroit Tigers announced Tuesday that star designated hitter Victor Martinez tore his left ACL last week during offseason conditioning. An MRI yesterday confirmed the injury. Surgery is expected, and it is thought that he will miss the entire 2012 MLB season.
Martinez hit .330 with 103 RBIs in 2011, helping Detroit win the AL Central in his first season with the Tigers. He signed a $50 million, four-year contract before last season.
I guess you can say the AL Central is much more open now. The Tigers, and one of Martinez’s former teams, the Cleveland Indians, are expected to be the favorites.
From the AP:
Although he spent some time on the disabled list early in the season with a right groin problem, Martinez was still able to play 145 games…It’s been a quiet offseason so far for the Tigers, who added reliever Octavio Dotel but kept their everyday lineup largely intact. With Martinez out, they might need to make another move to replace his bat. The pressure will also fall on Cabrera, catcher Alex Avila and shortstop Jhonny Peralta to repeat the productive seasons they had at the plate in 2011.
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