That sound you heard in your office today around 3:30 est was the collective groan from the state of Michigan when they found out Victor Martinez tore his ACL during a winter workout. There is a good chance Martinez could miss the entire 2012 season if the injury requires surgery.

Martinez is a big loss to the Tigers

Martinez is entering the second year of the four-year contract he signed last winter and he was everything the Tigers hoped he would be last year. Martinez hit .330/.380/.470 with 12 HR’s in 595 PA’s.

This is a big blow to the Tigers, but that doesn’t mean their 2012 season is completely ruined. There are different ways the Tigers can replace him. Will they completely be able to replace VMart’s production? At this stage of the game and with the amount of money it would take to get a guy who can produce an .850 OPS, that’s not likely.

Carlos Pena is the most logical option to replace VMart. Pena had an .819 OPS last year in Chicago, but it’s not like he is going to cost a $1. See that’s the issue with these injuries. Instead of putting money into other areas of need such as pitching depth, the Tigers now have to invest even more money into a DH spot.

I think Pena would be a great addition to the Tigers and he could also spell Miguel Cabrera at first. How much have things changed for Pena in the last week by the way? Two weeks ago he had a very limited market and now with the New York Yankees trading Jesus Montero and VMart going down, he has two legit options from two teams that can spend money.

Of course Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui are options as well. Matsui just managed a .696 OPS last year in Oakland, but he is just one year removed from having an .820 OPS with the Yankees. There’s a slim chance he has that type of year left in him, but you never know.

Internally, Ryan Raburn is certainly an option. Raburn was able to slug 14 HR’s in 418 PA’s in 2011. However, while the power was there, his plate selection really took a bath last season. His 5.0 percent BB Percentage was the lowest of his career.

Based on his righty/lefty splits, the Tigers could go with a Raburn/Don Kelly platoon at DH in 2012. That’s not a barn-burner of a platoon, but it would be good enough to allow the the Tigers spend money in other areas to strengthen the ball club.

The Tigers now have some unexpected work to do, but like I said earlier, all is not lost. If the St. Louis Cardinals could find it in themselves to overcome the lose of Adam Wainwright prior to the 2011 season, then Detroit can find a way to overcome the loss of VMart.

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By The Baseball Index