Don't worry Detroit Tigers fans, you can exhale. Outfielder Justin Upton avoided a collision with teammate Anthony Gose, but he left the game with an ankle injury.
It doesn't appear to be serious, but this is the second significant player that could miss time for the Tigers. Cameron Maybin went down with a wrist fracture last week after he was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat of the spring, and he's expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Upton and Gose were chasing down a fly ball off the bat of Nationals' infielder Danny Espinosa when Upton avoided Gose at the last second to avoid a nasty collision. Gose stepped on Upton's ankle, and the nine-year MLB veteran remained on the ground until the Tigers' head athletics trainer, Kevin Rand, made his way to the outfield.
Upton stood up and walked off (slowly) on his own. The Tigers' Twitter account announced that he was removed from the game for "precautionary reasons."
Upton signed a six-year, $132.5 million contract with Detroit this offseason after a relatively uncharacteristic campaign with the San Diego Padres. The 28-year-old batted .251/.336/.454 with 85 runs scored, 26 home runs, 81 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Overall, his numbers were solid, but his batting average (.251) and OPS (.790) were his lowest totals in years.
However, he'll be in a much more favorable situation as a member of the Tigers. He'll be surrounded by sluggers Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler, Jose Iglesias and others, which should make up one of the best offenses in baseball.
Still, the former first overall pick will need to be monitored closely because Detroit cannot endure another injury-ridden spring training for the second straight season. Last year the team was without Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Justin Verlander, and it significantly hampered its performance at the onset of the 2015 season.
Right now the Tigers will be without Maybin for a little while, but hopefully Upton's injury doesn't require him to miss a big chunk of time because continuity will be important for the new-look Tigers, who added seven new players this offseason via free agency and trades.
