J.D. Martinez Pulled With Lower Back Tightness, Not Traded
KANSAS CITY -- J.D. Martinez was pulled from the Tigers-Royals game on Monday night and soon after began the trade speculations. However, it turned out to be just an injury precautionary move.
Martinez was taken out of Monday's game in the bottom of the sixth inning with lower back tightness as a precautionary measure, according to the Tigers. The move came while the Tigers led the Royals, 7-0.
Before the injury announcement was made by the Tigers, many began to speculate whether Martinez had been traded away. Check out the Twitter frenzy below.
Hmmm. Tigers removed J.D. Martinez from game in 6th inning. Word is, Washington CF prospect Victor Robles removed from game in minors. Hmm?
— Bob Wojnowski (@bobwojnowski) July 18, 2017
Hmmm.... J.D. Martinez was just removed from the game in the 6th inning! Traded?
— Mike Sullivan (@MikeSullivan) July 18, 2017
JD traded?
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 18, 2017
However, the Detroit Tigers public relations department tweeted about the injury shortly after he was removed from the game to quiet the trade talk for now.
The silencing of the possible move also sparked some interesting responses on Twitter.
Damn, what a tease. The Robles thing was fun to believe for all of 7 minutes.
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 18, 2017
I don't feel good at all, went from possible trade to back injury? Not good for trade possibility! #G
— Karsch and Anderson (@DougAndGator971) July 18, 2017
Martinez is one of the Tigers that many teams are reportedly interested in, including the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
While it appears Martinez will still be a Tiger tomorrow morning, it might not be for too much longer. One MLB insider wasn't ready to wash away the possible trade rumor right away.
J.D. Martinez is, in fact, the subject of ongoing talks between the #Tigers and #DBacks, back tightness notwithstanding, sources say. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 18, 2017
Sources: #Tigers still discussing J.D. Martinez with multiple teams; no trade with #DBacks imminent. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 18, 2017
So Martinez may have been taken out of Monday's game as a precautionary issue, but there's no guarantee he'll be in Detroit for much longer. Only time will tell if Martinez will be traded.
The MLB trade deadline is July 31.