He is the most recognized name in the Mets farm system. He has been at or near the top of the Mets prospects ranking virtually since he was signed in 2005. For years he has been assumed to one day fill one-third of the Mets outfield. However, his time in the big leagues has been as disappointing as it has been brief. He, of course, is Fernando Martinez.
The talent and promise that Martinez possesses have been as well documented as the injuries that have kept him off the field. All the injuries have been frustrating for Martinez, the organization, and spectators alike. However, with youth still on his side, there has been no need to overreact too much, believing that he has time to overcome his chronic injuries. After all, Jose Reyes struggled with injuries when he was young, but got past them eventually, playing every day from 2005-2008 without any problems. So perhaps that would be the road Martinez would take as well, just needing some more time for his body to get completely healthy.
But that was until last week when the Mets announced that an MRI showed that Fernando Martinez has mild arthritis in his knee. Arthritis is a condition that is unusual for someone of his age, and is something that can’t be fixed with any type of surgery or rest. This doesn’t have to be a career-ending injury for Martinez, but it is something that he will have to contend with for as long as he plays baseball and beyond, since it’s no secret that knees are a crucial part of the body for baseball players (see Carlos Beltran, 2010).
Now what does this mean for Fernando Martinez on the field? Short answer: nothing good. A guy who has never played in more than 90 games in a season, now has a condition that will never go away and can flare up at any time, especially when strain is put on it. This will make it even for harder for Martinez to play a full season, playing every day and staying healthy, which is what Martinez needs more than anything for his development. Without consistent playing time it will be that much harder for the Mets to prepare Martinez to be able to contribute at the major league level, which is obviously the ultimate goal, and now has one more obstacle standing in the way.
If Martinez is one day able to get to the major leagues, any chance of him playing centerfield will be all but gone because of a decrease in his speed that will certainly come due to his arthritis. Once relegated to a corner outfield spot, it’s unlikely that with recurring knee pain that Martinez will be able to be in the lineup on an every day basis, meaning he will only be able to make up one half of a platoon, and that’s if he can avoid stints on the disabled list. Another issue that may present itself is whether or not his swing will be affected by a permanent knee condition, perhaps decreasing the amount of power that Martinez can generate with the bat.
But even with the recent news of arthritis in the knee of Fernando Martinez, there is still no need to write him off as a prospect. The tools and the ability are still there, and he is less than a year removed from being the MVP of the Caribbean Series. However, there is a need to manage expectations for him as well as reassess his place in the organization. Martinez will no longer lay claim to one of the top spots when all the different rankings of the Mets top prospects come out, those days are over. But there’s still reason to believe that Fernando Martinez can overcome all the set backs and still become a serviceable major league player. Even with the injuries, and the pain that he will no doubt have to play through, Martinez is still loaded with talent and potential, even if he can’t be an every day impact player. He will just be a different type and different caliber of player from what we’ve been expecting from him for many years.
45 comments
Bryan
12/10/2010-4:01pm at 4:01 pm (UTC -4)
P.S. F-Mart has said recently that he is feeling better, but he is done playing winter ball and is just going to try and get ready for spring training.
Mr North Jersey
12/10/2010-4:02pm at 4:02 pm (UTC -4)
I won’t hold my breath on him being able to get ready without some other sort of injury.
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-4:04pm at 4:04 pm (UTC -4)
Countdown to when Ceetar comes in and spits in the face of medical science…3…2….
Ceetar
12/10/2010-4:07pm at 4:07 pm (UTC -4)
Show me the medical science and I’ll see if i want to spit on the face of it. All I see are assumptions.
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-4:11pm at 4:11 pm (UTC -4)
2 minutes longer than I had expected.
kingman 26
12/10/2010-5:10pm at 5:10 pm (UTC -4)
It’s not an assumption that he has been hurt over and over and over again—where is the assumption??
It’s almost funny—he plays three innings in winter ball and sprains his left nostril.
Mr North Jersey
12/10/2010-5:13pm at 5:13 pm (UTC -4)
lol, nostril.
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-5:18pm at 5:18 pm (UTC -4)
but the nostril injury was just a fluke, no different than the prior injuries to his tonsils, ureters, cecum, ear lobes and shin hairs. at some point he will have suffered all the injuries one can suffer and will then become the second coming of Willie Mays, only he’ll be the first successful player to rely on a breathe right strip to assist his breathing following his nostrilectomy.
kingman 26
12/10/2010-5:42pm at 5:42 pm (UTC -4)
The shin hair condition will be chronic…when he rolls over in his sleep, his brittle, frail, arthritic shin hairs suffer what is called “severe blanket trauma.” Can be lived with, but never cured.
The nostril sprain is just a myth; Rubin disproved it in a very well-researched piece.
hazmet
12/10/2010-6:39pm at 6:39 pm (UTC -4)
He must have gotten a whiff of Ollie’s pitching down Mexico way.
oleosmirf
12/10/2010-4:10pm at 4:10 pm (UTC -4)
Omar really screwed him when they kept moving him up at such a young age despite not having great success in any league. factor is only decent numbers and his injury concerns it looks like unless something drastic happens this season, he wont ever reach his potential.
metsfan4decades
12/10/2010-4:38pm at 4:38 pm (UTC -4)
A tendancy towards arthritis at that young an age? Good luck with that…
Not saying he can’t play but as he gets older, it’s just going to get worse. The only good thing is being diagnosed so young, if he pays attention he can halt the progress somewhat.
stickguy
12/10/2010-4:50pm at 4:50 pm (UTC -4)
it helps to have the best doctors and drugs money can buy, and personal trainers working on you.
and what the hell, he really only has to be fully functional until about age 29 (from a met perspective). If he comes up in 2012, he will be about 23, so 6 years of relative cheap control then let him walk as a FA!
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-4:53pm at 4:53 pm (UTC -4)
the same doctors, medicines and trainers that have so successfully helped Beltran and Reyes stay on the field?
stickguy
12/10/2010-4:55pm at 4:55 pm (UTC -4)
no, different medicines and trainers.
are you really comparing managing a minor case of arthritis with a torn hamstring tendon of a massive bone bruise?
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-5:00pm at 5:00 pm (UTC -4)
Before 2005, Reyes missed all sorts of time due to recurring hamstring problems. All of the training he was undergoing was supposed to prevent the type of injury he had, but alas, it didn’t. In any event, unlike a hamstring pull/tear, arthritis is a permanent degenerative condition — much like Beltran’s.
stickguy
12/10/2010-5:05pm at 5:05 pm (UTC -4)
I assumed you were talking about the last year or so of Reyes.
and the trainers must have known something, because once Reyes matured they eliminated the hammy issues, letting him play every day for 4 straight years.
and that really had nothing to do with pain management.
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-5:14pm at 5:14 pm (UTC -4)
beltran has arthritic knees. Castillo has knee problems. neither of them have been exactly durable lately.
anyway, it’s more than pain management — it’s management of a situation that will get worse no matter what.
kingman 26
12/10/2010-5:08pm at 5:08 pm (UTC -4)
And Church and Bay and Johan and Castillo and Maine and Mejia and……….
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-5:13pm at 5:13 pm (UTC -4)
You know, I intended to list the entire litany of injuries but I drew a blank on all the names (delgado).
kingman 26
12/10/2010-5:38pm at 5:38 pm (UTC -4)
Geez, how did I forget Delgado; another of the mysterious never-ending injuries.
stickguy
12/10/2010-6:02pm at 6:02 pm (UTC -4)
well, you and wanny showed me the light. Because church and bay got concussions, castillo had a bone bruise in his foot, and santana and maine had shoulders shred from use, there is no chance that F mart can possibly manage a case of minor knee arthritis.
team should just release him now and free up the space on the 40 man roster. And probably best to just go ahead and amputate.
stickguy
12/10/2010-4:46pm at 4:46 pm (UTC -4)
it is a bit of a leap to go from a minor case of arthritis, to losing so much speed he couldn’t play CF and chronic pain making him a part time player in RF.
hopefully he fully embraces a serious training regimeine (diet, exercise, stretching, icing correctly) to minimize the effects of the arthritis. Lots of Motrin might help too.
I said elsewhere that 1/2 the players in the majors probably have some level of arthritis in some joint or another. And guaranteed they all play with some level of pain. So, part of his future will be based on how well they manage any pain, and frankly, how much of a pain tollerance he develops. And some players do much better with that than others!
also, don’t compare his knee injuries and surgeries with reyes having chronic hammy issues. missing cartlidge does not tend to grow back, but you can train ans stretch to keep your hammies OK.
anywho, like I said months ago, pretend F Mart does not exist. don’t even invite him to ML camp. Assign him at the beginning of ST to the MiL side, and ship him to AAA to hopefully play a full year. Also assign him a “lif” coach and personal hitting guru if needed.
Then just intend to leave him for a full season in Buffalo (sounds like a punishment), unless he absolutely destroys the league and forces his way up (and the Mets have an opening).
stickguy
12/10/2010-5:08pm at 5:08 pm (UTC -4)
I think Andre Dawson is a good comparision for F Marts knees. Wasn’t he the guy that had like no knee cartlidge left from playing on the hard surface in Montreal for so many years? I remember an article not too long ago that he could barely woak for years, and used to constantly have massive ice bags on his knees. basically, his FT job was keeping his knees functianal enough to make it through a game.
an extreme example, but that is what I meant by each player having to decide how much they cna tollerate and play through.
kingman 26
12/10/2010-5:11pm at 5:11 pm (UTC -4)
Um, did Dawson have an injury history like FMart.
No sir.
Not any kind of comparison.
What’s so difficult about some of these things?
wannybackstra
12/10/2010-5:19pm at 5:19 pm (UTC -4)
Did Dawson start in that in condition or did that condition occur later in his career, resulting in him eventually becoming a shell of his former self?
kingman 26
12/10/2010-5:40pm at 5:40 pm (UTC -4)
It sure did not start during many injury-plagued minor league years; he barely played in the minors (and had amazing stats) and was healthy enough to beat Steve Henderson for Rookie of the Year by ONE VOTE. I am still a little pissed about that…would have been the one 1977 Met highlight.
stickguy
12/10/2010-5:57pm at 5:57 pm (UTC -4)
you people certainly like to go off on tangents.
I made a simple point that arthritis was a chronic condition, that can be managed to some degree, but will have to include pain tolerance by the player. And gave an example of a guy with a vastly worse condition that went to extraordinary lengths to play through what must have been severe pain.
I just don’t think you have to write off F Marts career due to his condition.
kingman 26
12/10/2010-6:29pm at 6:29 pm (UTC -4)
Hey buddy, never ever suggested giving up on him.
Just making the point that FMart’s physical history combined with his weak stats at all levels make him more suspect each year.
And the Mets over the last few years hardly have demonstrated the “best” of anything injury-related, be it players’ conditioning, rehabs, or tolerance for pain, or the record of the doctors, pharmacists, trainers, or medicines.
Is that arguable? In reality?
metsfan4decades
12/10/2010-5:53pm at 5:53 pm (UTC -4)
And didn’t I read earlier this week the Mets fired their conditioning trainer?
Nothing personal as I don’t even know who that was but that has to be a step in the right direction. Or will be if they get someone in here that knows what ‘conditioning’ means….
stickguy
12/10/2010-6:00pm at 6:00 pm (UTC -4)
yeah, he is gone too. Not much left from the omar regime at this point.
rustyjr
12/10/2010-6:53pm at 6:53 pm (UTC -4)
Be back tomorrow
oleosmirf
12/10/2010-6:54pm at 6:54 pm (UTC -4)
problem is F-Mart is not staying healthy and not producing when healthy. If he were playing well like Havens but keeps getting hurt thats one thing but his numbers last season were not very good last season.
the only positive that you can take is the 12 HR in slightly less than 300 AB
Ceetar
12/10/2010-9:56pm at 9:56 pm (UTC -4)
Oliver Perez through 1 inning tonight. 1 K, 1 WP, 3 infield outs(one an error really)
stickguy
12/10/2010-10:13pm at 10:13 pm (UTC -4)
mejia: 3 IP, 0 hits, 4 ks.
Ceetar
12/10/2010-10:17pm at 10:17 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, good news on Mejia pitching well. Although probably less immediate relevance to it.
Perez 1-2-3 second. another K.
stickguy
12/10/2010-10:51pm at 10:51 pm (UTC -4)
just nice to see that he seems to be healthy. Now forget his name and send him straight to Bingo out of ST. Don’t let him even cross the parking lot to the ML camp.
Him and Knogs BFF Fernando.
Ceetar
12/10/2010-10:55pm at 10:55 pm (UTC -4)
We’re talking about Perez right? ;-0
stickguy
12/10/2010-11:13pm at 11:13 pm (UTC -4)
well, perez isn’t going unless you cut him his check for 12mill 1st. And even then it will only be for a vacation while Boras tries to find another team to take a minimum wage flyer on him.
Prismo
12/10/2010-11:41pm at 11:41 pm (UTC -4)
Ollie: one-out walk followed by back-to-back home runs.
Is it a coincidence that you were updating us on his outing right up until the point he fell apart?
stickguy
12/10/2010-11:42pm at 11:42 pm (UTC -4)
gotta type fast if you want to get in an update before he falls apart.
Prismo
12/11/2010-12:00am at 12:00 am (UTC -4)
BURN
(and I was just giving you a hard time Ceetar
)
Ceetar
12/11/2010-8:40am at 8:40 am (UTC -4)
if buying season tickets is what I have to do to watch Ollie constantly and him pitch no-hit/no-walkers, then that’s what I’ll do!
kingman 26
12/10/2010-10:26pm at 10:26 pm (UTC -4)
FMart: 0 AB, 1 bedsore from his nap, 1 bruised heel from getting out of bed too quickly, 1 sore tongue from eating lunch too fast, 1 sprained wrist from opening Tylenol bottle, and 2 sore eyes from looking at a light bulb.
stickguy
12/10/2010-10:52pm at 10:52 pm (UTC -4)
you need to learn to multi-task. You are falling behind on you rants about Reyes.
at least I can count on 1 fan being happy when Jose leaves for a 7/125 contract elsewhere after the season ends!