On Sunday, Nick Castellanos left Sunday's game because of a bad hop that caught him in the cheek against the Baltimore Orioles. It was later reported by Chris Iott of MLive that the Detroit Tigers' third baseman also hyper-extended his right finger during the process.
The 23-year-old walked off under his own power and appeared to be all right as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reported. The injury to the cheek was later reported as a contusion to his cheek bone, which might not be as serious as his finger issue.
The 6-foot-4 right-handed hitter will be forced out for a few games, which will allow both Andrew Romine and Jefry Marte to share time at third base.
Romine is batting .301/.344/.410 with two home runs and eight RBI during 59 games this season for Detroit. The six-year veteran has shown improvement over the past few seasons. Over 83 at-bats in 2015, the infielder has grounded into only one double play.
Marte, 24, has batted in four games this season and has done pretty well. Marte was called up due to his .271/.337/.497 slash line with 13 homers and 55 RBI over 77 games (323 plate appearances) with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. He was also called up to help with the loss of Miguel Cabrera.
Over the four games in the Big Leagues, Marte is hitting .333 with one home run and four RBI. He owns a 1.178 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). The right-handed hitter has scored two runs over his nine MLB at-bats. Marte has one walk and two strikeouts to this point in the season and his Major Leauge career. He has played three games at first base and one game at third base.
Castellanos was drafted in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft and is currently signed through 2015 on a one-year, $525,000 deal. The third baseman, who debuted on September 1, 2013, will become a free agent in 2020.
Castellanos has struggled this year, but he has turned it on as of late. The infielder is slashing .239/.284/.365 with six home runs and 38 RBI. The right-handed hitter will need to continue to produce if he wants to improve both his batting average and home run totals before the season ends.