J.D. Martinez initially succeeded in playing through lower back discomfort but wound up missing three consecutive games before the Los Angeles Dodgers placed him on the 10-day injured list.
Martinez’s IL stint was backdated to April 25, which made Thursday the first day he could be activated. That was a scheduled off day for the Dodgers, but it left Martinez on track to be available for a weekend series against the San Diego Padres.
However, the veteran won’t be with the team for that matchup at Petco Park.
“J.D. is recovering well. I don’t see him available in that San Diego series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this week. “So I think the earliest we could potentially even have a conversation to be available is in Milwaukee.”
Roberts added it’s possible Martinez will need to go on a rehab assignment prior to coming off the IL, but that the team would discuss a course of action with the veteran.
Martinez said he first felt the back pain when running out of batter’s box during the series finale against the Chicago Cubs. Martinez remained in the game and even managed to muster a home run off Marcus Stroman, but expressed some regret over continuing to play due to the ultimate outcome.
“I probably should have said something, but didn’t. Honestly, I was just being dumb, trying to be a hero, tried to weather it out,” Martinez said last week. “I should have spoken up sooner. It probably would’ve saved me, but it’s one of those things where I irritated it, and now I have to wait until it calms down.”
Martinez is batting .250/.309/.512 with nine doubles, two triples, three home runs, 14 RBI and a 120 wRC+ in 92 plate appearances across 23 games this season.
Dodgers DH without J.D. Martinez
In the nine games Martinez has been unavailable because of the lower back tightness, the Dodgers have started Michael Busch, David Peralta (two), Will Smith (three), Jason Heyward (two) and Miguel Vargas in the designated hitter spot of their lineup.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
