OAKLAND -- As reporters gathered in Brad Ausmus' small office at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, he got briefly distracted while glancing at a computer screen on his desk. Tracking the progress of J.D. Martinez (right Lisfranc ligament sprain), Ausmus was pleased to see the rehabbing outfielder slug a two-run homer for Class A Advanced Lakeland.
The Tigers skipper added that Martinez is scheduled to travel Sunday to meet with Triple-A Toledo in time for the start of Monday's series at Gwinnett, "assuming he didn't re-injure his foot rounding the bases on a home run."
Though he was scheduled to play five to seven innings for Lakeland on Saturday, Martinez finished out the entire game. Ausmus said he'd like to see the slugging right fielder -- who's mashed 60 homers and driven in 170 runs while posting a combined .293/.357/.535 slash line the past two seasons -- get more playing time in the field before returning.
"I'd like to see him play nine [innings] back-to-back," Ausmus said.
Worth noting
• Ian Kinsler tested out his tight left hamstring Saturday, but was held out of the lineup for the second straight contest. Kinsler had to leave Wednesday's game after feeling his hamstring cramp up while running out a ground ball, and will likely be held out until Tuesday's series opener at Arizona.
"I'm inclined to just wait until the off-day, to be honest with you," Ausmus said. "Play it safe. If it was the middle of September, it's probably a different story."