CLEVELAND _ After a health scare that went far beyond baseball and led to some extended time spent at the Cleveland Clinic, Indians center fielder Leonys Martin is being released from the hospital, according to president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti.
Martin has been recovering from a bacterial infection that at one point was described as "life-threatening," and quickly became severe after he felt sick following the Indians' game on Aug. 7. Doctors determined that the bacterial infection entered his bloodstream and created toxins that damaged Martin's internal organs and compromised their function.
Antonetti and manager Terry Francona visited Martin recently and relayed that he was sitting up, walking around a bit and feeling better. Antonetti called Martin's scheduled release "beyond a relief," with Martin's health becoming the sole focal point above baseball.
"He will actually be released from the hospital today, which is incredibly good news," Antonetti said. "To think about the progress he's made over the past week, it's been nothing short of amazing. We don't have a lot of additional details about what the plan will look like from here other than he'll have a series of follow-up checks this week with doctors, just to continue to monitor his health."
Antonetti told reporters in Cincinnati on Aug. 13 that he wasn't sure if Martin would play again this season. For now, the team is just relieved to have him healthy enough to leave the hospital.
"We're in uncharted waters. There's no precedent you can look back to and say, 'What does a return to activity look like?' " Antonetti said of Martin's potential baseball timetable. "It's very much going to continue to be day to day."
Antonetti said Martin wants to get back to baseball.
"Oh, he's been chomping at the bit, even before he was fully lucid," Antonetti said. "He's been really anxious to get back to be around the team and get back to playing baseball."
