Tigers’ Martinez Tears Up Knee

In two weeks, pitchers and catcher report to Tigertown in Lakeland, Florida for the Tigers.  Their star DH, Victor Martinez, won’t be there any time soon.

The Tigers said today that slugger Victor Martinez tore the medial meniscus in his left knee during workouts.  The runner-up for the AL MVP, will undergo surgery to repair a torn left meniscus.

Dr. James Andrews is scheduled to perform surgery next Tuesday.

The 36-year-old, switch-hitting designated hitter batted .335 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 2014 in helping Detroit to its fourth straight AL Central title.

This is the second time Martinez has suffered a serious offseason knee injury as a Tiger. In 2012, he tore his left ACL in offseason conditioning and missed that entire season. Besides having surgery to repair that injury, he also underwent a micro-fracture procedure on the same knee earlier that year.

Martinez will make $14 million this season after signing a new four-year, $68 million contract this offseason with the Tigers.