J.D. Martinez's Status TBD for Red Sox' Wild Card Game vs. Yankees After Injury

Boston Red Sox star J.D. Martinez was removed from Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals after suffering a twisted ankle.  

Manager Alex Cora told reporters postgame, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, that he's unsure whether Martinez will be ready for the team's American League Wild Card Game against the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Martinez recently dealt with back issues that caused him to be scratched from the lineup prior to Boston's game against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 10.

Any absence by Martinez is going to cause problems for the Red Sox. The lineup has been the strength of this club's surprise performance in 2021. Entering Sunday, their .448 slugging percentage ranks second and 822 runs scored ranks fourth in Major League Baseball. 

Martinez has been an instrumental part of the lineup. The four-time All-Star has an .867 OPS with 25 homers and 89 RBI in 148 games. 

We'll see what Cora decides to do if Martinez has to miss Tuesday's game, but on Sunday, Jose Iglesias replaced him in the lineup and played second base. Enrique Hernandez moved from second to center field, and Hunter Renfroe shifted from center to right in response.