Reds outfielder/designated hitter underwent surgery yesterday to repair ligament damage in his thumb, manager David Bell informed the teams beat ( via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer). A firm timeline for his recovery wasnt provided, but Bell noted theres still a chance Martini could return before seasons end. Martini was placed on the injured list over the weekend due to an i sue in his left thumb. He suffered the injury when he jammed his thumb on a headfirst slide into second base the day prior. The 34-year-old Martini got out to a blistering start in 2024, Clay Carroll Jersey ripping a pair of Opening Day homers and batting .290/.303/.677 through his first 11 games. He then fell into a prolonged slump before being optioned to Triple-A Louisville on May 7. Martini has twice been optioned to Louisville this season, and both times hes laid waste to upper-minors pitching. In 60 plate appearances, hes delivered a .340/.467/.681 batting line with four homers and as many walks as strikeouts (11). That certainly suggests the thumb hadnt been bothering him prior to that ill-fated slide and that the bulk or entirety of the damage came on that one isolated play. The overall .212/.272/.370 slash that Martini has turned in this season for the Reds is quite a ways below par, but he has a history of drawing walks and posting solid OBPs at the MLB level. In 575 MLB plate appearances, Martini is a .252/.336/.400 hitter. Hes also consistently been an OBP machine in Triple-A, where hes slashed .295/.400/.451 in 2246 career plate appearances. Martini will get big league pay and service time while he mends from that surgery. The injury could also give the Reds some 40-man roster flexibility, as it seems quite po sible based on Bells nebulous recovery timeframe that hell require 60 days on the injured list. Jose Rijo Jersey