The Red Sox host the Yankees Tuesday night in the AL Wild Card Game. Rosters have been submitted by each team and while we’d usually be looking through the bullpen and bench players to find anything mildly interesting, there’s something huge sticking out at us on the Red Sox roster: J.D. Martinez isn’t on it.
Martinez injured his ankle while taking field in the fifth inning during Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Nationals. He tripped over second base. Martinez left with what the team later announced as a left ankle sprain.
Martinez is, of course, a force in the middle of the Red Sox offense when he’s in the lineup. He hit .286/.349/.518 (126 OPS+) with 28 homers, 99 RBI and an MLB-best 42 doubles this season. He’s hit third most of the season but has recently settled into the five-hole in Alex Cora’s lineup.
Speaking of Cora’s lineup, we now know it can’t have Martinez in it on Tuesday night. Expect Kyle Schwarber in the designated hitter spot, Hunter Renfroe in right field, Alex Verdugo in left field and Bobby Dalbec at first base. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers will fill the three and four spots in the lineup, as they have been for some time. Perhaps Schwarber sits in the two hole and Renfroe hits fifth.
There’s no possible way to spin Martinez being out as a good thing, but maybe Red Sox fans could take solace in knowing this: After the All-Star break, Martinez hit .268/.320/.467 after a .299/.371/.556 first half. So while this is a blow, it’s not nearly as big a blow as if Devers was out.
The Red Sox won their last three games to make the postseason, but had lost five of six before that. They went 10-9 against the Yankees this season, but have lost their last six against the Yankees.
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