Reds outfielder/designated hitter Nick Martini underwent surgical procedure yesterday to restore ligament harm in his thumb, supervisor David Bell knowledgeable the group’s beat (X hyperlink through Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer). A agency timeline for his restoration wasn’t offered, however Bell famous there’s nonetheless an opportunity Martini may return earlier than season’s finish.
Martini was positioned on the injured listing over the weekend as a consequence of a problem in his left thumb. He suffered the harm when he jammed his thumb on a headfirst slide into second base the day prior. The 34-year-old Martini received out to a blistering begin in 2024, ripping a pair of Opening Day homers and batting .290/.303/.677 via his first 11 video games. He then fell into a protracted droop earlier than being optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Might 7.
Martini has twice been optioned to Louisville this season, and each occasions he’s laid waste to upper-minors pitching. In 60 plate appearances, he’s delivered a .340/.467/.681 batting line with 4 homers and as many walks as strikeouts (11). That actually suggests the thumb hadn’t been bothering him previous to that ill-fated slide and that the majority or entirety of the harm got here on that one remoted play.
The general .212/.272/.370 slash that Martini has turned on this season for the Reds is kind of a methods under par, however he has a historical past of drawing walks and posting stable OBPs on the MLB stage. In 575 MLB plate appearances, Martini is a .252/.336/.400 hitter. He’s additionally persistently been an OBP machine in Triple-A, the place he’s slashed .295/.400/.451 in 2246 profession plate appearances.
Martini will get huge league pay and repair time whereas he mends from that surgical procedure. The harm may additionally give the Reds some 40-man roster flexibility, because it appears fairly attainable based mostly on Bell’s nebulous restoration timeframe that he’ll require 60 days on the injured listing.
