CLEVELAND — Angel Martinez's major league experience thus far has been one in which he has been thrown into the fire, so to speak. But the Guardians still believe he can handle the heat.
Martinez was recalled by the Guardians before Saturday's 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in place of Tyler Freeman . With Steven Kwan nursing a sore back and out for the last few days, the Guardians preferred Martinez over Freeman, as the former is a switch-hitter and the latter had continued to struggle at the plate.
Martinez wasn't simply called up to offer some depth as a utility man. He was immediately thrown into the leadoff spot for Saturday's game. It was a similar story to when he was promoted to the majors earlier this season, when he was quickly inserted into the No. 2 spot between Kwan and star third baseman Jose Ramirez .
The Guardians certainly aren't hiding Martinez down in the order. Suddenly, as long as Kwan is sidelined, Martinez could see time in a key spot in the lineup.
Throwing Martinez into the leadoff spot wasn't a decision that caused manager Stephen Vogt any hesitation.
"I mean, we threw him right into the two-hole last time he was here and he performed well, and I think for Angel we know he can play," Vogt said. "He's a big leaguer and we've got a lot of those guys [with some experience] in Columbus that we know can play up here. So he'll come in with a smile on his face and ready to go."
Martinez almost instantly made an impact when he was called up earlier this season. Over a 12-game stretch shortly after being promoted, Martinez hit .296 with a .404 on-base percentage, with two home runs, three doubles, four RBIs and eight walks — enough for a .904 OPS — mostly in the No. 2 spot.
When Lane Thomas was acquired just before the trade deadline , that erased any open path for regular at-bats for Martinez. The Guardians didn't want him to enter a situation in which he was mostly a rarely playing backup off the bench, so they considered it the best path forward to allow him to play every day in Triple-A Columbus.
Martinez continued to hit Triple-A pitching well (.812 OPS), and he's now not only back up in the majors but hitting leadoff for the time being. The Guardians told him they know he'd be ready for the next opportunity, and Kwan's injury reopened that door.
All of this did lead to a difficult conversation with Freeman, who broke camp with the Guardians as an option mainly in center field, but also at shortstop. But Freeman has struggled, with just a .626 OPS, and the Guardians viewed Martinez's ability to hit from both sides of the plate as necessary with Kwan sidelined.
"It's never fun to send anybody to Triple-A," Vogt said. "Tyler was with us all year, did everything we asked him to do, play different positions, different spots in the order, but we felt [with Kwan sidelined] … it was a move we needed to make.
"Again, the guy's with us for five and a half months and we send him [down] right before the end of the year. It makes it sting a little bit more."
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians recall Angel Martinez due to Steven Kwan injury
