The Astros have designated Henry Villar for assignment to make room for Fernando Martinez on the 40-man roster.
So, for some more about this much-heralded Fernando Martinez:
*Injuries have hampered his progress. According to the Adam Rubin notes Martinez' arthritic knee "that severely limits his mobility, even when he's technically healthy."
*The New York Daily News' Andy Martino:
The Mets publicly conceded what they had long since concluded internally: Martinez’s long history of injuries, which included arthritic knees at the age 23, outweighed his potential. Though one rival executive said, "The talent is still there."
Seedlings to Stars' Wally Fish:
I don’t think it would be fair to call any 22-year old player a bust as long as he’s still in the game and has shown flashes of being a future major league contributor. In the case of Fernando Martinez he has obviously failed to live up to expectations, but from my perspective those expectations were a little unrealistic.
*FanGraphs asked yesterday if Fernando Martinez was worth a waiver claim.
He’s a low-risk buy, but it’s really tough to argue that Martinez is capable of providing a high reward anymore. It’s always possible that Martinez is just a late-bloomer — which is why a team would take a shot on him — but age and performance are no longer on his side.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
