Russell Martin's season is over, as he suffered a broken hip and torn labrum on Tuesday night trying to score from third. He didn't. Instead, he landed awkwardly by jamming his right foot into the ground, severely hurting his hip in the process.
It's the first time in his five-year career that he's landed on the DL. The scary part about this injury is that it's being compared to the one Bo Jackson suffered while playing with the Raiders in 1991. That one ended his career, so Martin has to understandably be uncomfortable with this news.
What Martin must do for now is remain on crutches for three weeks before deciding on surgery. The early word is that he may be able to avoid it, at least for the time being. The hope is that the injury heals naturally, so obviously all he can do is let time tick away and do its trick.
Not too long ago I speculated about Martin's future in L.A. I wasn't convinced the Dodgers would want to offer him arbitration again and resign him. Now with this injury, I'm even less convinced of it.
It's no secret he's not nearly the hitter he used to be. From winning a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger, and making the All-Star team a few years ago, he's been way down the last two seasons. Last year he hit .250 with seven homers and 53 RBIs, and this year he's at .248 with five homers and 26 RBIs. Ouch.
Defensively he hasn't been too bad, throwing out around 30% of basestealers, good for eighth in the National League. But he also has 10 errors as compared to only seven last season.
It's hard to say exactly how Martin's career started to take a turn for the worse. He's regarded as one of the hardest working players on the team, yet those results just aren't there. One common theory is that his heavy workload and insistence on not missing games has caught up to him. It's hard to argue with that.
As for his future with the Dodgers, it gets a little tricky. Brad Ausmus is most likely in his last season, and even if he comes back, he's a backup at this point in his career. A.J. Ellis is way too weak at the plate to be considered a starter. So in looking at the current options, Martin sure looks a whole lot better than what they have.
But like I said, I think he's done with the Dodgers. Declining production and a scary injury are two big reasons why I think the Dodgers will wash their hands of him. Just like Paul Lo Duca before him, the Dodgers got a couple of big seasons out of them, then not much else.
In looking at the free agent list, there's not many big names. The best ones are John Buck, Victor Martinez, Bengie Molina, and Yorvit Torrealba (who has a mutual option). Keep an eye on these names when the offseason hits.
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