Mets veteran designated hitter JD Martinez is dealing with lower-back tightness, manager Carlos Mendoza revealed prior to his team’s Tuesday night game against the Atlanta Braves.
He received an injection in the area that will shut him down for three to five days before he can continue ramping up toward joining the major league club.
The 36-year-old slugger’s abbreviated spring training was shut down momentarily over the weekend for what Mendoza initially described as overall body soreness. After signing with the Mets one week before the start of the regular season on a one-year, $12 million deal, Martinez remained in Florida to train.
All the while, the Mets broadcasted an initial possibility that he would join the team as early as Sunday’s series finale against the Cincinnati Reds. Still, they moved the goalposts last week by eyeing their current series in Atlanta against the Braves for a potential 2024 debut.
Martinez was assigned to Single-A St. Lucie to experience live-game action on Thursday, which is when the problems arose.
“He’s feeling it body-wise,” Mendoza said on Sunday. “Quick ramp-up, a lot of at-bats on the backfield. Now that he’s started playing real games where he has to go through his route, start sitting down, waiting for his at-bats… he’s kind of finding that routine… It’s going to take him a little bit longer.”
For more on the Mets and JD Martinez, visit AMNY.com
