JD Martinez was unavailable for Tuesday’s AL Wild Card Game due to an ankle injury. His status for the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays is not known at this moment.
So, how did Martinez hurt his ankle? We have video of the situation.
Martinez suffered his ankle injury when he twisted it while stepping on second base during the Boston Red Sox’s regular season finale against the Washington Nationals.
JD Martinez is missing tonight's win-or-go-home AL Wild Card Game because he rolled his ankle on second base while jogging out to his position in right field in the last game of the regular season on Sunday pic.twitter.com/rkJlKvwTg3
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 5, 2021
Martinez superstitiously steps on second base while heading out to his position. That’s not an unusual superstition for a player; many also jump over the first and/or third base lines.
Martinez had immediate swelling in his ankle and was unable to play on Tuesday. Jon Heyman reported on Wednesday that Martinez’s ankle does not look good.
JD Martinez’s ankle is said to look very bad and he may not be able to play some more days but he is expected to fight to be on the roster. No structural damage is the good news. He may have to abandon the superstition to step on the 2B bag on his way out to the outfield though.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 6, 2021
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi shared video of Martinez testing his ankle at Tropicana Field on Wednesday ahead of Game of the ALDS.
J.D. Martinez is testing his ankle in left field, after not taking BP on the field with the other Red Sox players. @MLBNetwork pic.twitter.com/LsvzhyKR7Z
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 6, 2021
Martinez also played coy regarding his status for the series.
J.D. Martinez tested his ankle at low intensity in the outfield, under the watchful eye of Red Sox athletic training staff. J.D. walked by me as he exited the field after the brief exercise. I asked if he can play tomorrow. He smiled and said, “You’ll find out.” @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 6, 2021
The Red Sox have a difficult decision to make regarding Martinez. They need to finalize their roster for the ALDS against the Rays. They won’t want Martinez to use up one of the spots that could go to another player if he won’t be able to play. But if they get the sense that he will be available sometime soon, they will probably want him on the roster.
Martinez batted .286 with an .867 OPS this season. He slugged 42 doubles and 28 home runs for Boston.
