Russell Martin hurts knee in shower slip up; out for series opener vs. Mariners

During yesterday's off day, Russell Martin slipped in the shower and twisted his knee according to TSN reporter Tony Ambrogio.

As soon as today's lineup came out with Jose Thole catching Marco Estrada, something seemed wrong. The Blue Jays had two off days this week on Monday and Thursday and R.A. Dickey is set to go tomorrow (who Thole exclusively catches). The only reasonable explanation for Martin's absence  from the lineup seemed injury, and unfortunately, the speculation came true.

Martin apparently slipped in the shower after spending too long in the sauna:

Gibbons on Martin:Russ was in sauna yesterday, was in too long, got lightheaded, fell in shower & hurt knee. Needs couple days off #BlueJays

— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) July 22, 2016

Russell Martin says he was in shower yesterday after spending time in sauna Felt "woozy" & "next thing you know I'm on the ground." #Jays

— Tony Ambrogio (@Tony_Ambrogio) July 22, 2016

The good news is that the Blue Jays don't expect the injury to be serious, and an MRI showed no structural damage to Martin's knee. For now,  the team hopes Martin avoids the DL, and a best case scenario seems to put Martin back behind the dish on Sunday.

With Thole's bat representing the back up catcher spot on this roster, Martin is someone Toronto can't afford to lose long term. It's probably not a coincidence that this team's turnaround from four games under .500 in late May to twelve games over .500 right now occurred as Martin's bat woke up.

In his first 39 games of the season, Martin posted an awful .172 / .243 / .180 (.423 OPS) line. However, in the 42 games he's appeared in since May 24, Martin's been invaluable with a .277 / .377 / .475 (.852 OPS) mark.

Let's hope Russell's knee isn't hurt as much as his pride.