Martin rushes to join Dodgers

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Martin rushes to join Dodgers
05/06/2006 3:07 AM ET
By Amanda Branam / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- It isn't the news the Dodgers hoped for concerning Dioner Navarro's wrist, but it could have been worse.
The catcher was placed on the 15-day disabled list after suffering a bad bone bruise on his right wrist in Thursday's game against the Padres. In the second inning, Vinny Castilla fouled a ball back that hit the 22-year-old on the wrist, but X-Rays taken on Friday showed there was no break.
Navarro was due up in the bottom half of the inning on Thursday, where he said he took the tape off his wrist and was going to try and take his at-bat.
"When I grabbed my bat, I tried to make a swing and I said, 'I can't go,' " Navarro said. "I know my position is tough, and I know I get hit a lot, but when it happened, I knew it was pretty bad."
The result was pretty bad for Navarro, who was just beginning to heat up at the plate, but it ends up opening the door for Russell Martin, who made his Major League debut on Friday against the Brewers. Martin is considered one of the top prospects in the Dodgers organization, and was hitting .297 with nine doubles for Triple-A Las Vegas before getting called up.
Martin jumped on a flight to Los Angeles on Friday morning after waking up to a phone call from Dodgers general manger Ned Colletti at about 8:15 a.m. PT. Martin was on a road trip in Salt Lake City.
"Definitely the best wakeup call I've ever gotten," he said.
Martin is part of a core group of Minor Leaguers that is considered one of the top in baseball but one the Dodgers were trying to hold off on moving up to the Major League team for another year or two. The Dodgers have already been forced to use some of the group to fill in for injured players, including James Loney at first base while Nomar Garciaparra was out with a strained rib cage, and Andre Ethier was called up earlier in the week to replace the injured Ricky Ledee (groin).
"(Martin) caught everyone in Spring Training, and he handled them all very well. We're not concerned with the receiving (at the plate)," said Little.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.