The Detroit Tigers' designated hitter, who they signed to a $68 million contract earlier this offseason, will need surgery on his knee. Meanwhile, the team has entered the sweepstakes for a highly sought-after free agent.
According to Jason Beck of MLB.com, Victor Martinez tore his left medial meniscus during workouts last week in Florida and he's scheduled to undergo surgery with Dr. James Andrews. The Tigers retained the 36-year-old slugger on a four-year, $68 million contract back in November, and this news by no means helps their investment. Martinez had a career year in 2014 and finished runner-up in the AL MVP voting after slashing .335/.409/.565/.974 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs.
Andrews will perform the surgery on Martinez next Tuesday in Pensacola, Florida, after which he will provide a timetable for the All-Star's return. Typical recoveries for such an injury can be from four-to-six weeks, but there have been cases where it takes six-to-eight weeks or even longer. Nonetheless, the injury is likely going to hamper Martinez's ability to get significant reps in spring training, which may ultimately affect his readiness for Opening Day.
Martinez also tore the ACL in his left knee during offseason workouts prior to the beginning of 2012. He missed that entire season. It's unknown if that injury attributed to his meniscus tear in any way.
But the Tigers are moving ahead and hope to improve as a team. Detroit has now entered the sweepstakes for Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada, who was cleared by the MLB to sign with a team earlier this week. However, the Tigers will have some competition since the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers are also vying for the 19-year-old's services and appear to be the favorites to sign him.
"The Tigers have traditionally shied away from big-money signings on the international market," writes Beck. "They've shown interest in past Cuban players, including Rusney Castillo last summer and Yoenis Cespedes a few years ago, but they qualified as pro free agents."
Moncada qualifies as an amateur player because he's younger than 23 and hasn't played professional baseball, so he's subject to different guidelines on the international market. The Tigers would likely be subject to penalties if they land Moncada, since he's expected to receive a $30 million to $40 million deal, but it might be worth it because of the youngster's sky-high potential.
Detroit held a private workout for Moncada last week and general manager Dave Dombrowski said "he's good player, no doubt."
