Brad Ausmus not considering placing Victor Martinez on the disabled list

DETROIT — Victor Martinez has now missed three consecutive games and six in the last eight days, but Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he is not considering placing Martinez on the disabled list.

"Because of the timeline, and the All-Star break coming up right now, it's been broached, but it's not really been considered," Ausmus said.

Martinez returned to the Tigers lineup for two games (July 3–4) after being sidelined June 30–July 2 for right side soreness. That lasted all of two games before Martinez was taken out of the game early on July 4 after he re-aggravated his side.

Whether Martinez will play in the second game of a two-game series against the Dodgers hasn't yet been discussed. "The standard day-to-day," Ausmus said. "But, like I said, we're going to be cautious with him."

The Tigers have a four-game series in Kansas City against the Royals July 10–13 before the All-Star break, so Martinez could return at some point in that series. However, Ausmus said he would be willing to keep Martinez out of the lineup through the break if he had to as long as it meant getting Martinez completely healthy.

Ausmus will likely have a decision to make whether to allow Martinez play in the All-Star game only a week away, but he said he hasn't reached that point yet. Ausmus said he would need to discuss it with Martinez and Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski before setting anything in stone.