Tigers DH Victor Martinez hasn’t made any formal decisions on his future, but the five-time All-Star at least hinted at retirement following the 2018 season during an interview with MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. The 39-year-old Martinez, who missed time last season due to an irregular heartbeat, talks with Castrovince about the frightening incident when he first felt symptoms during a game — a sensation that was all the more troublesome given the history of heart issues that runs in his family. As Castrovince explains at greater length, Martinez lost his father to a heart attack at a young age, which only serves as further motivation for him to spend as much time with his own children as possible.
“Honestly? I’m ready,” the longtime Tigers slugger tells Castrovince. “…I know I left everything in this game. I think the biggest problem for athletes is they don’t know what to do after baseball. That won’t be my problem.”
More from the division…
- The Royals assigned minor league signee Clay Buchholz to Double-A after he showed well in extended Spring Training, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Buchholz, who missed nearly all of the 2017 season following surgery to repair a flexor tear in his right forearm, tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings with one hit, two walks and five strikeouts in the first of what should be multiple rehab outings. Flanagan reminds that Buchholz has a May 1 opt-out date in his deal, however, so Kansas City could have to make a call on the longtime Red Sox righty before too long. With Nate Karns on the disabled list and Eric Skoglund struggling through his first two starts, there does appear to be room to fit Buchholz into the mix in Kansas City.
- The White Sox announced that top prospect Eloy Jimenez has recovered from the pectoral strain that sidelined him to open the season, and he’ll head to Double-A Birmingham in place of the recently released Courtney Hawkins. As James Fegan of The Athletic writes, the release of Hawkins makes it all the more likely that Chicago’s 2012 draft will prove to yield little to no value at the big league level. But, the Sox also now boast considerably stronger outfield depth in Class-A Advanced and in Double-A, representing a noted turnaround from recent seasons. Jimenez made an 18-game cameo in Double-A last season but figures to spend a greater chunk of time there, as well as some time in Triple-A, before being moved up to the big league level.
- News on fellow White Sox outfield prospect Ryan Cordell is less encouraging than the Jimenez update; Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago tweeted this week that the 26-year-old Cordell is expected to miss at least eight weeks after suffering a fractured collarbone. Cordell, acquired in the trade that sent Anthony Swarzak to the Brewers last summer, had a monster performance in Spring Training but had gotten off to a slow start in Triple-A Charlotte this year. Injuries have slowed Cordell’s path to the big leagues considerably in recent seasons, but he’s on the 40-man roster and had been viewed as a prospect likely to make his big league debut this season before this latest setback. It’s possible, of course, that Cordell recovers and appears for the ChiSox later this season.
By the time Ryan Cordell recovers from his fractured collar bone Eloy Jimenez may be ready to replace him in LF at AAA Charlotte. Cordell had also been spending time in CF with another top White Sox outfield prospect Charlie Tilson before his latest injury.
It’s too bad for Cordell who had a legitimate shot to make his MLB debut with the White Sox this season as a potential platoon partner with lefty hitting Nicky Delmonico in LF. Now Jimenez may actually have a better opportunity to debut with the White Sox in LF but he will be nobody’s platoon partner when he does so. The moment Jimenez arrives, Delmonico will have to share AB’s with Matt Davidson at DH.
Meanwhile, the lefty hitting Tilson will be a welcome addition to supplant or pair with Adam Engel in CF once he can regain his batting stroke after missing most of the past two season with assorted leg injuries. Unlike the speedy but weak hitting Engel, Tilson would be a legitimate possibility atop the White Sox batting order along with Yoan Moncada, at least until Luis Robert is ready for prime time around 2020.
Sounds good
Really unfortunate that Engel absolutely raked in spring training. Now he’s back to the same old Engel we saw last year. Would’ve loved to see Cordell open up the season in CF for the Sox.
Yeah, both had a good spring but Engel is the far better defensive player in CF. Both are right-handed hitters so platooning would not have been an obvious solution. Engel came back to Earth once the regular season started but Cordell also struggles at AAA before injuring himself.
Hopefully Tilson can regain the form he had as a top Cardinal prospect and help at the top of the batting order and in CF until Luis Robert is ready. Once Jimenez is promoted he will be a fixture in LF and in the middle of the White Sox batting order. Tilson, Cordell and Engel will all being vying for reserve outfield roles in a couple of seasons or be trade fodder, especially if the White Sox elect to retain Avisail Garcia beyond his 2019 walk year. Their decision might be influenced by another top OF prospect in Blake Rutherford who is off to a good start at A+ Winston Salem. The White Sox could use a solid left-handed bat in their lineup and Rutherford just might fit the bill.
Victor Martinez has had a career most players would be envious of. Retirement or not, I wish him well. Great hitter. Great guy.
KC seems like a good place for a bounce back. go get em Clay!
Maybe Jared Mitchell has a couch Courtney Hawkins can sleep.
I don’t know if there is a demand for it, but if you’re looking for an expert to identify “Toolsy outfielders who can’t put the bat close to breaking stuff” to blow a first round pick on, then Kenny Williams is your man.
Remember when Kenny took CF Mitchell right before the Angels took Trout? That was awesome.
Or when they took hawkins and then the dodgers take corey seager..or when we traded tatis Jr for James shields..that’s the one i wish we could take back
Mike Trout wasn’t drafted until the 25th pick of the first round in 2009. There are plenty of teams who missed out him. Only the Nationals who picked Stephen Strasburg with the overall #1 selection and the Diamondback who chose A.J. Pollock at #17 can claim a legitimate consolation prize. The Angels themselves took Randal Grichuk just ahead of Trout with their #24 selection who also turned out to be one of those better consolation prizes when looking over that year’s first round: link to baseball-reference.com
Wasn’t Hawkins the guy that did the back-flip on stage when he was selected in the draft??….Or am I getting him mixed up with someone else??