The Mets scratched J.D. Martinez from Tuesday’s game against the Washington Nationals with what the team called a sore left ankle, and now we know what caused it.
“If I’m being quite frank, I haven’t gotten my shipment of cleats in and I had to try a new cleat yesterday,” Martinez explained after the game. “Nothing happened yesterday. Felt great, cleats felt great and I woke up this morning and my ankle was sore… Went to go hit in the cage and there was a sharp pain in my ankle.”
Martinez, who spoke light-heartedly while explaining the situation, said he did some treatment on his ankle but doesn’t know when he’ll be back in the lineup.
The Mets’ DH said he uses an Adidas brand shoe and that his particular cleats are backordered so he’s patiently for them to come in.
“Just moving and hitting on a brand new shoe is different,” he said.
Martinez says he goes through cleats quickly because of how much he rotates when he swings, which grinds the metal spikes. He says he probably uses a new pair every three-to-four games because if he didn’t, he’d slip in the box.
While he waits for his cleats, he’s going to continue to use the ones from Monday’s game, which he ordered online. However, he believes there was an extra spike that they didn’t account for, which may have caused the soreness.
“We pretty much just got a blade and cut it out,” Martinez said. “We’ll see.”
Martinez was originally in the lineup batting third but catcher Luis Torrens will replace the slugger as the Mets’ designated hitter. Torrens will bat sixth behind Francisco Alvarez with Mark Vientos moving up from the fifth spot to take Martinez’s spot in the three-hole.
Martinez has played great for the Mets in his first season in Flushing. In 56 games this season, Martinez is slashing .278/.360/.853 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI.
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