The Los Angeles Dodgers have been bitten by the injury bug in recent weeks — especially on the position-player side. Chris Taylor was sidelined earlier this month with a non-displaced fracture in his left forearm and likely won’t return until rosters expand in September.
Moreover, David Freese was recently placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, and Kiké Hernandez joined him this week when he was additionally put on the shelf with a left hand sprain.
In Tuesday’s matchup against the Colorado Rockies, there were concerns that Russell Martin may have suffered an injury himself. He grimaced and limped as he jogged to first base on a groundout in the third inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with Martin in the dugout after his at-bat before ultimately permitting him to remain in the game. The 36-year-old caught all nine innings and showed no further signs of serious injury.
After the contest, Martin downplayed any concerns about his back, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“The back is OK. It’s been better, but it’s been worse, too. I’m not too worried about it. Got through it, and we’ve got a good training staff that will take care of it.”
Though Martin insists he is completely healthy, he has dealt with previous back issues this season. He missed a few days of workouts during Spring Training due to back soreness.
Then in April, Martin was sidelined for roughly three weeks with lower back inflammation. Martin managed to avoid a rehab assignment, however, and was able to rejoin the Dodgers before the close of the month.
With Austin Barnes recently being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City in favor for Will Smith, Martin has remained the secondary catcher to the Dodgers’ promising prospect.
The veteran was out of the lineup on Wednesday, though that was likely the plan anyway since Smith is expected to receive the lion’s share of starts at catcher going forward.
In 57 games this season, Martin is hitting just .219/.348/.301 with three doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI over 178 plate appearances. He has also tossed two scoreless innings in two pitching appearances.
