White Sox starter Davis Martin revealed he's been dealing with a lingering calf injury since April after being pulled early from Sunday's start.
When Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Davis Martin was removed from Sunday's start after just 4.1 innings and 70 pitches, it was a bit of a head-scratcher for those tuned in.
Martin has been particularly strong since returning from the IL, even though he hasn't gotten particularly deep into games. That being said, he completed at least five innings and allowed no more than one earned run in each of his first three starts since bouncing back from a blister and rejoining the White Sox.
While his 145.1 innings pitched this season represent a new career high, Martin didn't appear to be laboring Sunday afternoon when he was pulled from the game. Will Venable has had a particularly quick hook with his starting pitchers recently, sometimes to the detriment of his own bullpen.
But yanking one of your more reliable arms with a comfortable 4-0 lead would have represented a new level of aggressive managing, one that seemingly defied logic.
So it wasn't much of a surprise to hear after the game that Martin actually had something else going on. He was battling an injury, which caused the White Sox to exercise extra caution.
Is that comforting? It depends on which lens you look at it through.
It's more reassuring when it comes to Venable's managerial decisions, but it's definitely something to monitor with Martin moving forward. And White Sox fans would be justified in feeling uneasy about the fact that Martin revealed a previously undisclosed injury that he's apparently been battling for most of the season.
Martin was dealing with soreness in his right calf. The White Sox were trying to protect against aggravating the issue on a chilly, rainy afternoon and decided to pull him early, especially with a scheduled off day on Monday giving the bullpen a chance to rest.
“I’ve been dealing with it since April. So it’s been an on and off thing. Just tonight with the instability on the mound, it was just an added little layer where I was sliding all over the place. Just kind of throbbing pain,” Martin said.
“Throbbing pain” isn't exactly what White Sox fans want to hear from one of the team's key arms at this point in the season. Neither is the revelation that Martin has apparently been dealing with the issue on and off since April.
But it was clear Sunday that Venable and the White Sox wisely chose to protect Martin long term rather than push him with what felt like a comfortable lead.
Getting to the postseason is obviously the primary focus for the White Sox right now. But if they have any chance of making some noise once they get there, they'll need Martin available and pitching at his best.
Pulling him after 70 pitches might have created some confusion in the moment, but protecting his health for the games that could follow was considerably more important than squeezing a few extra outs out of him on Sunday.
