Detroit Tigers: Buck Farmer called up, Victor Martinez on paternity list

Detroit Tigers pitcher Buck Farmer returns to the team as Victor Martinez goes to the paternity list. The pitcher will help bolster the team’s pitching staff.

Detroit Tigers fans will be seeing a slightly different team over the next few days.

Not only is slugger and future Hall-of-Famer Miguel Cabrera sidelined for a handful of games, the Tigers will also be without Victor Martinez.

The designated hitter will be out for the near future as he heads to the paternity list.

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

The Tigers’ official Twitter account tweeted the following:

"“The #Tigers placed DH Victor Martinez on the paternity list today and will recall RHP Buck Farmer from Toledo (AAA) prior to tonight’s game.”"

Farmer has previously pitched in 32 games for the Tigers in parts of the last three seasons. In the last two years, the pitcher has appeared in 14 games each campaign.

He owns a 6.84 ERA and a 6.02 FIP. However, Farmer showed improvement in 2016 with the Tigers, notching a 4.60 ERA, while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings.

The starter has also been effective for Detroit’s Triple-A team in Toledo this year.

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In eight starts, Farmer has pitched to a 3.51 ERA while also punching out 8.7 batters per nine frames. He’s also limited mistakes, giving up just 1.7 walks and 0.7 home runs per nine innings.

While he’s started with the Mud Hens, the pitcher will work out of the bullpen with the Tigers. After Brad Ausmus’ group of relievers was taxed in the Baltimore series, Farmer will give the team another arm.

Similar to Chad Bell and Anibal Sanchez, Farmer can eat multiple innings per outing, saving the rest of the bullpen in the process.

Filling in for Victor Martinez

With Martinez out of action, it will certainly be interesting to see how the Tigers replace his bat in the lineup.

The designated hitter is batting .270 with a .338 on-bae percentage and a .387 slugging percentage. Martinez has also chipped in with a .316 wOBA and a 98 wRC+.

All told, the veteran has registered 23 RBI, 13 walks, 12 runs scored, seven doubles and three home runs.

J.D. Martinez replaced his teammate as the designated hitter on Friday, registering two hits in five at-bats.

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With the elder Martinez out of the lineup, the likes of Alex Avila, Tyler Collins, Mikie Mahtook and Andrew Romine are all likely to see slight increases in at-bats.