The Guardians announced that Angel Martinez has a non-displaced foot fracture, placed him on the IL and called up Petey Halpin.
Martinez was having a solid season with a 97 wRC+, 11 homers, 9 steals and 0.9 fWAR. His defense looked solid in the outfield, also. It’s a real shame because Martinez seemed to have a good shot at being the first Cleveland outfielder to it 20 home runs since Tris Speaker (ok, not that long, but it feels like it).
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Halpin returning is an interesting choice, as one might have suspected that Kahlil Watson would get a look. Halpin has an 82 wRC+ at Columbus and Watson has a 126 wRC+ there. It may indicate some doubts about Watson’s glove in centerfield. Both Halpin and Watson have whiff and chase concerns. Halpin has consistently put up .770 OPS’s against RHP in Columbus, so I would guess, for now, he will platoon with Stuart Fairchild in center field while Steven Kwan moves back more of a strictly left field role. Halpin offers good speed and great defense, so there’s a solid floor there the Guardians are relying on for the time being. They may also be holding off on Watson’s debut to allow his family time to travel and making it a home debut for when they come off this road trip. We will see.
Typically, such injuries require 6-12 weeks of recovery time, so the Guardians can likely put Martinez on the 60-Day IL if they need a roster spot. I’d guess we probably won’t see Angel in the outfield until the end of August, which is a real bummer.
