OT: Tigers' JD Martinez cracked his elbow tonight. Out 4-6 weeks.

Submitted by ckersh74 on

JD cracked his elbow tonight banging into the wall in RF. As noted, he's likely out 4-6 weeks. 

My thought: pick either Moya or Jacoby Jones. Call one of them up. Plant them in RF for the duration. And enough with Mike Aviles running around in the outfield like a lost billygoat. Having 3 outfielders and 2 utility men on the entire roster is pure stupidity. It's Randy Smith-esque. Espcially with Maybin having issues with his wrist, and Gose being about ready to be sent to AA. 

Mr. W

June 16th, 2016 at 11:24 PM ^

Call up Moya or Jones like you said and pick up Carl Crawford since he's been DFA and you'd only have to pay him the minimum. Crawford for Aviles and Romine can be your utility guy.

Mr. W

June 16th, 2016 at 11:30 PM ^

I don't think he's a long-term fix by any means, but he's a low cost option to go along with two kids who haven't been everyday big leaguers. A rotation in right of those two plus Crawford seems better defensively since Maybin's health is questionable and Aviles isn't an everyday outfielder.

ckersh74

June 16th, 2016 at 11:34 PM ^

I question why Aviles is still on this roster. Again, right now we're not carrying a backup outfielder, and yet Aviles doesn't do anything that Romine can't do. 

As for Crawford, cost isn't a concern by any means. It's a matter of productiviy and health. The last couple years, he has not demonstrated much of either. The guy can't help us if he's hitting. .185 while he's on the DL. If he was the least bit productive, and his body in one piece, I'd say go get him. But there's a very good reason the Dodgers DFA'd him. 

Mr. W

June 16th, 2016 at 11:42 PM ^

I agree with you on that. They need to pick up two outfielders with JD gone. One to spell him and another in case Maybin misses games. A backup SS in CF isn't helpful when you're a game back. Or else lose an arm in the pen to keep Aviles and that doesn't make sense either.

ckersh74

June 17th, 2016 at 12:00 AM ^

The way he's going, Gose might be about to get sent to Erie. He's a mess right now. 

As for Moya and Jones, from a developmental standpoint, they both need to be playing every day. If you call them both up, one of them sits on a regular basis, because you're not going to sit Upton or Maybin. You probably shouldn't be doing that at this point in their careers. 

I'd have to believe that the thought at this point is that Moya and Jones are thought of as either contributors in Detroit very soon, or they're going to be showcased as trade bait for someone that thinks they can play everyday for another franchise, in Moya's case. At this point Collins is neither of those. He's organizational depth, more or less. He can sit as a 4th outfielder and it's not going to stunt his development like it would a Moya or Jones. 

rob f

June 17th, 2016 at 1:32 AM ^

on Maybin?  I like the energy he brings, I like him defensively in CF, and I like his bat  and baserunning, despite that most of his hits seem to be ground singles.  Upton may have a little more power, but not nearly enough to offset the other things that Maybin brings.

 

GoWings2008

June 17th, 2016 at 1:51 AM ^

Is exactly what my thoughts were, and with the number of quality starts from the starting rotation seemingly on the rise, I'm slightly less worried. We seem to be getting production from multiple sources lately so I hope the rest of the team can pick up Martinez while he's down.

Yo_Blue

June 17th, 2016 at 9:31 AM ^

Both Jones and Moya are striking out a lot.  Jones at a higher rate.  Moya has some pop in his bat but hits at a lower average than Jones and has committed two errors.

In a full season last year, Moya hit .240 with 20 HRs.  It would be nice to have a better option, but these two are the best in the system without going the trade route.

bronxblue

June 17th, 2016 at 12:04 AM ^

I assume they'll test the trade waters as well, but this year doesn't feel like a particularly great one for the Tigers and I'm not sure they are going to be hurt that much without J.D. in the lineup, especially if Victor can keep his bounce-back going offensively.

Going after a guy like Crawford wouldn't seem to fix the issue much.  I'd rather they give Jones a look and see if he can spot them what they need.

ckersh74

June 17th, 2016 at 12:10 AM ^

Again, if they call up either Moya or Jones, they've got to play every day. You can't call them both up and have one of them sit. A platoon is not viable, either. 

I suspect that it's Moya, as Jones has yet to play a dozen games for Toledo. His performance could very well tell us how the trade deadline is going to go for the Tigers in general. The non-waiver trading deadline is July 31. I've read 4-6 weeks for JD. 6 weeks from now is the end of July. 

rob f

June 17th, 2016 at 1:23 AM ^

The DonKey !!!

That said, I'd rather have Don Kelly as a utility man than Mikd Aviles.  Neither can hit, but at least Kelly was serviceable defensively.  Aviles, though?  With some of the bonehead plays he's made this year, I'm inclined to think he's still being paid by the Cleveland Indians.   

JamieH

June 17th, 2016 at 1:54 AM ^

Moya hitting .302/.330/.579 (13 HRs) at Toledo.  Time to see if he is the future.

 

JaCoby Jones is hitting .319/.386/.569 combined between Erie and Toledo and will get the call if Moya can't hack it.  He might be closer if he hadn't been suspected 50 games earlier this year for a drug abuse issue. 

LSAClassOf2000

June 17th, 2016 at 6:46 AM ^

I would definitely agree with the OP here - put Moya or Jones out there for the time being, because the whole Aviles-Upton-Romine outfield thing.....yeah, that wasn't really working all that well as a combination. Actually, when that combination first appeared last night, I was trying to call my doctor to ask which of these meds I can stop taking so I can drink again. 

autodrip4-1968

June 17th, 2016 at 10:23 AM ^

JD will be missed. Agree about Moya. Sounds like he will get his chance. Aviles needs to be cut. Brass I've read want Jones's on the farm for the season. I would bring Gose back for defense and pinch running. Moya looks in need of late inning replacing in the field. Don't know much of what's on the farm for a other outfielder option. I think that one infielder, outfielder and catcher on the bench would be enough for a American league baseball team. I would have thirteen pitcher's since starting rotation guy's have limits to their innings.