Last week it was reported Detroit Tigers' designated hitter Victor Martinez tore his left medial meniscus during offseason workouts and would require surgery from Dr. James Andrews. The switch-hitter underwent the procedure today and there is some good news.
The Tigers' Twitter account posted an update on Martinez earlier today and said he "underwent successful medial menisectomy surgery of his left knee ... Martinez will begin rehabilitation immediately and will resume full activity in 4-6 weeks." This timetable for return is the best-case scenario for the 36-year-old because such an injury could sometimes take 6-8 weeks or longer depending on the severity.
Luckily, Martinez only needed surgery to clip a torn portion of his meniscus rather than undergo a full reattachment, which could have taken anywhere between 3-6 months of recovery time.
"We are very happy the surgery went well and that Victor will be ready to compete for the start of the 2015 season," Tigers general manager David Dombrowski said in a statement released by the team.
"Obviously that [timetable] gives him a chance to be hopefully playing the latter part of Spring Training and give him enough at-bats," added head athletic trainer Kevin Rand, via Jason Beck of MLB.com. "That's obviously the hope."
Last week, the news was a huge blow for the Tigers, who signed the 12-year veteran to a four-year, $68 million contract earlier in the offseason. Martinez registered two full, healthy seasons after tearing his ACL (also in his left knee) and missing all of 2012. In 2014 he finished second in the AL MVP vote and earned his second career Silver Slugger Award after hitting .335/.409/.565/.974 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 151 games.
Although Martinez will be missing all of spring training, Dombrowski noted the team will not be looking to add anybody as a fill-in. Rand added that Martinez "was in great shape prior to the surgery" which "should really bode well for his rehab."
The Tigers hope to get the slugger back as quickly as possible because they'll need his bat alongside Miguel Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes and Ian Kinsler in the lineup.
