Victor Martinez looked like he was headed for the disabled list when he was pulled from the Detroit Tigers game versus the Seattle Mariners Monday night.
Martinez labored around the bases in the second inning after hitting a single, then moving to second base on a base hit by Brennan Boesch. He injured his right groin muscle in his final at-bat Saturday night against the Athletics, then sat out on Sunday. The plan was to keep him out on Monday, as well, but Martinez insisted he could go after getting through batting practice.
The move seemed even more imminent when the Tigers called up catcher Omir Santos from Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday afternoon. The team reportedly wanted to take one more look at Martinez's injury before making a final decision, but a roster spot needed to be opened to make room for Santos in time for Tuesday's game. And the only player who doesn't seem ready to play is Martinez, so Detroit decided to put him on the 15-day disabled list.
Santos signed with the Tigers last December to provide some organizational depth at catcher and insurance in case of injury. Martinez's pulled groin forced the team to cash in that policy. In 14 at-bats with the Mud Hens this season, Santos hit .429/.438/.429.
Martinez had gotten off to a somewhat slow start in his first 16 games with the Tigers, batting .250/.292/.417 with two home runs and nine RBIs. He's started five games at catcher, getting the nod over Alex Avila against left-handed starting pitching.
Brennan Boesch presumably becomes the Tigers' primary DH, perhaps alternating with Magglio Ordonez when the team faces a left-handed starting pitcher.