Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez scratched from lineup with back tightness

Boston Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup due to back tightness. Should we be worried?

The original lineup that the Boston Red Sox planned to send out against the Minnesota Twins was anchored by J.D. Martinez but the star slugger was a late scratch Wednesday afternoon.

According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, Martinez’ absence is due to back tightness that unexpectedly cropped up prior to today’s game.

Martinez played in right field yesterday and there was no indication that he hurt his back during the game. Perhaps he tweaked something since then or this could simply be general soreness that comes with ramping up activity in camp.

In any case, the team doesn’t appear to be overly concerned at the moment but will obviously proceed with caution. There’s no reason to push their Silver Slugger in mid-March.

Martinez is off to a slow start this spring, going 1-for-16 (.063) in six games. We can’t blame a back injury on these struggles considering the Red Sox wouldn’t have put him in the outfield if they knew he was dealing with any soreness. It’s also worth noting that his lone hit this spring came yesterday.

We should know by now not to overreact to spring stats anyway. Remember when Red Sox fans were worried about Mookie Betts slumping throughout camp last spring? He went on to win the MVP.

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Martinez wasn’t exactly lighting it up in his first spring training with the team. His .319 batting average in Grapefruit League action last year was encouraging but his production lacked power, with a modest .794 OPS and no home runs. The trend carried over into April but as the weather began to heat up, so did Martinez’ power stroke. He finished the year in the thick of the MVP race, hitting .330/.402/.629 with 43 homers and 130 RBI.

World Series hero Steve Pearce replaced Martinez in the lineup as the DH on Wednesday. The right-handed half of a first base platoon has seen limited action this spring, entering the day without a hit in eight at-bats. The veteran could use more plate appearances to find his rhythm at the plate.

The regulars expected to open the season on the 25-man roster are getting more playing time now that several players have been jettisoned from big league camp in the first wave of roster cuts. Missing a day or two won’t inhibit Martinez from being ready for the season so sitting him now at the first sign of an issue is the smart move to prevent the back tightness from flaring up and becoming a more significant injury.

Expect to see Martinez return in the near future and be a staple in the Red Sox lineup when the season begins later this month.