Detroit Tigers should bring in Stephen Vogt as Victor Martinez fill-in

Detroit Tigers fans will see a team without Victor Martinez for the time being as the designated hitter is sidelined with an irregular heartbeat. Stephen Vogt makes sense a potential fill-in.

Detroit Tigers front are currently in a tough situation. The team are built to win, but they haven’t had the best start to the season.

The good news is that there is plenty of time to make ground in the playoff race. Despite a 32-39 record, the Tigers are only 5.5 games back of a playoff spot.

In other good news, Detroit clearly has the talent to make it happen.

Justin Verlander turned in an extremely encouraging start on Wednesday in Seattle, while an offense featuring Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez, Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton is never truly out of a game.

While the Tigers’ core offensive players have been dependable this season, the team has at times lacked depth at the bottom of the lineup.

Over the course of 2017, Detroit has used players such as Alex Presley (81 wRC+), Andrew Romine (74 wRC+), Tyler Collins (68 wRC+), James McCann (67 wRC+) and JaCoby Jones (28 wRC+) in filling out the bottom third of the lineup.

Now, with Victor Martinez sidelined due to an irregular heartbeat, the team is in more need of offensive help in terms of hitting after the elite sluggers.

Martinez’ injury has meant J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton have both moved up in the lineup. When Nicholas Castellanos isn’t hitting second, he’s also been moved up to the sixth spot in the order.

This leaves a combination of the likes of Presley, Romine and McCann seeing regular at-bats further down the lineup.

One player who could help fill in is Stephen Vogt.