DETROIT – Tigers star Victor Martinez could miss the entire 2012 season after injuring his left knee during offseason conditioning.
The Tigers said Tuesday the 33-year-old Martinez tore his left ACL last week. An MRI on Monday in Lakeland, Fla., revealed the injury. The slugging designated hitter will be evaluated again next week, but the team fully expects Martinez to need surgery.
Detroit won the AL Central by 15 games last year and reached the AL championship series behind Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Martinez. The Tigers suddenly face a much murkier outlook for 2012.
“After you feel sorry for yourself for a day or so, you move on,” general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “We have a good club. We’ve got a lot of players who will step up.”
Team trainer Kevin Rand said it will be hard to estimate when Martinez may return until after surgery.
“We get a timeline coming out of that,” he said.
Martinez hit .330 with 103 RBIs in 2011, helping Detroit win the division in his first season with the Tigers. He signed a $50 million, four-year contract before last season.
Martinez and Cabrera formed a powerful pair in the middle of the lineup, and manager Jim Leyland had nothing but
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