Baseball is a notoriously unfair game on the field. It can be off of it as well.
Few players better understand that sentiment right now than Seth Martinez, who was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday when the Astros activated Lance McCullers Jr. from the injured list.
Martinez, a 27-year-old rookie, has a 2.48 ERA (2.83 xERA) across 32 2⁄3 innings. Now he’s back in the minors.
It’s a move that needed to be made but is nevertheless cutthroat for Martinez, who had proven to be an effective arm in a bullpen that has the lowest ERA in baseball.