The news came as a surprise as Martin was widely considered to be a favorite among both the players and coaching staffs. Despite his early struggles, he was widely considered in the Mariners organization as one of the premier defensive centerfielders in all of baseball.
Martin had recently lost playing time against left-handed pitching to Guillermo Heredia, and sat against a right-handed pitcher for the first time yesterday. His .111/.172/.130 line did not help his cause, though there is some speculation that Martin may not have been himself in the clubhouse.
Former Mariner and current post-game analyst at 710 ESPN Seattle, Ryan Roland-Smith, had mentioned that Martin was ” not acting normally” and described his demeanor as “mopey.