Dodgers All-Star lands on IL with mystery ailment ahead of Red Sox reunion

According to a report from Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, however, the Dodgers aren't sure what exactly the ailment is and have been dumbfounded for the last month.

Ardaya wrote that the ongoing "saga" since the six-time All-Star's issue came up on July 23 has been "equal parts perplexing, yet predictable."

"Each recurrence followed a similar timeline. (Martinez) would go through his pregame routine, which only got more extensive each time, only to feel a sudden cramping sensation in his left groin/adductor area after taking some swings. Within a couple of hours, he’d feel like he couldn’t walk. By the games’ end, he felt largely fine," Ardaya wrote.

Martinez's move to the IL comes three days before Los Angeles begins a three-game road series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Martinez played for the Red Sox for five seasons from 2018-2022, making four All-Star teams and helping Boston win their most recent World Series title in his first year with the club (against the Dodgers).

The upcoming weekend set will not only be the 36-year-old's first time back in Beantown since leaving in the offseason but also the long-awaited reunion for longtime former Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts. The 2018 AL MVP was selected by Boston in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft and suited up for the club during his first six big league seasons from 2014-19 before being traded.

Relief pitchers Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly, as well as utilityman Enrique Hernandez, are also former members of the Red Sox who now play for the Dodgers (Hernandez and Kelly are in their second stint with Los Angeles). Like Martinez, Kelly won't be playing this weekend, as he's currently on the IL with a forearm issue.

As noted in Ardaya's report, a "string of MRIs" showed that Martinez's mysterious injury isn't related to his back, which put him on the IL earlier this year and has "given him trouble in years past."

"I can’t tell you, because I don’t know. ... That’s the hard part," the former Silver Slugger award winner said earlier this week. "Walking around, doing everything doesn’t hurt. ... It’ll take like one swing in BP. It’s not even in the game."

According to an ESPN and Reuters report, Martinez (who turned 36 on Monday) hasn't played since Saturday, but prior to that had been in four contests since having an epidural injection and an MRI, which revealed "nothing new." He's also been dealing with "hamstring tightness and lower back discomfort for most of the past month," per the report.

With NL MVP candidates in Betts and Freddie Freeman, as well as a host of other potent bats, the Dodgers (76-47) haven't missed a beat despite Martinez's problems. They've gone 19-7 since he was first scratched from the lineup in late July and are cruising toward yet another NL West crown.