Detroit Tigers: J.D. Martinez Officially Placed on Disabled List

Detroit Tigers fans will see a different starting right fielder to begin the 2017 regular season as slugger J.D. Martinez has officially been placed on the disabled list.

Detroit Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez has been put on the disabled list to begin the season.

The veteran is entering his fourth season in the Motor City.

Detroit’s official Twitter account announced the move in a tweet on Friday morning.

The team tweeted the following:

"“The #Tigers have placed outfielder J.D. Martinez on the 10-day DL with a right midfoot sprain, retroactive to 3/30.”"

Losing Martinez for any amount of time is an obvious blow for Detroit. In 120 games last season, the 29-year-old hit .307 with a .373 on-base percentage and a .535 slugging percentage.

He turned in a .228 ISO, as well as a 142 wRC+ and a 1.8 WAR.

However, the Tigers do have the offensive firepower to score runs in bunches without the team’s starting right fielder.

Miguel Cabrera is still arguably the best hitter of his generation—not to mention in baseball—while Ian Kinsler, Nick Castellanos, Victor Martinez and Justin Upton will all continue to provide run support while J.D. Martinez is on the disabled list.

Short-Term Replacements

With Martinez sidelined, expect some combination of Tyler Collins and Mikie Mahtook to man right field.

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Collins saw plenty of time in center field last season, but is more of a corner outfielder by trade. He’s appeared in 116.1 innings in right field in his Major League career.

It’s obviously a small sample size for the 26-year-old. In said small sample size, he has logged a -3.5 UZR and a -37.1 UZR/150.

Meanwhile, Mahtook has turned in 209 innings as a right fielder during his career.

In a similarly small sample size, the former Ray has posted much better defensive numbers, with a 3.1 UZR and a 25.2 UZR/150.

Lineup Construction

With Martinez out, it will be interesting to see how Brad Ausmus constructs his lineup.

When everyone is healthy, the outfielder seems likely to hit fourth or fifth, pairing with Victor Martinez behind Cabrera.

In that scenario, Castellanos would likely hit second in place of the since-traded Cameron Maybin.

How the lineup is constructed without the team’s right fielder though, remains to be seen.

Next: Here's Where the Tigers Rank in Our Power Rankings Before Opening Day

With J.D. Martinez now on the disabled list, it will certainly be worth watching in terms of what order the Detroit Tigers hit in every day.