MLB Opening Day 2017: Tigers’ J.D. Martinez placed on 10-day disabled list

J.D. Martinez will miss Opening Day because of his Lisfranc sprain. The Detroit Tigers announced on Friday morning that their right fielder has been placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to March 30.

He’ll be eligible to come off the DL after April 8, so that means Tigers fans will not see him on the field for the home opening game on April 7.

Martinez left a spring training game on March 18 following a catch made in right field. The following day, he sought a second opinion after initial X-rays proved negative for a break. Part of that involved a CT scan at the behest of Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C.

A few days later, the team announced that Martinez would be out for three to four weeks with a Lisfranc sprain, all but guaranteeing he’d miss Opening Day. The setback in right field puts the team in a bit of a bind for the first week of games given that the center field situation also isn’t fully fleshed out.

However, the Tigers are lucky that most of Martinez’s recovery has been occurring prior to the start of the season. There will still be some catching up to do, but better that it happened now instead of deeper into the year. This is one setback the team can at least afford with minimal roadblocks.