While news has been pouring out all day long about players avoiding arbitration, the biggest news is likely to be the Detroit Tigers' announcement that designated hitter Victor Martinez has a torn ACL and will likely be forced to miss the entire 2012 season. Martinez injured himself while doing winter workouts last week.

With the injury, a major need at the designated hitter position opens up for Detroit. This is a team that had been expecting Martinez to be a major factor on offense once again after a strong 2011 season, but now they may need to play the entire 2012 season without one of their best hitters. Martinez hit .330/.380/.470 in 595 PA's for Detroit last season, and was expected to be the full-time DH in 2012.

Now the Tigers are likely to be on the prowl for a new designated hitter without Martinez, and that could lead them in a variety of directions. Here are some of the rumors that have already popped up on Detroit's likely search for a new bat:

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Returning from the Disabled List

• Jimmy Rollins was activated from the disabled list on Thursday, but isn't expected to play immediately.
• The Mariners' activated RHP Dan Cortes from the 15 day disabled list.
• The Brewers did activate Rickie Weeks from the disabled list on Thursday as well.

Newly Injured, but Not on the Disabled List

• Andre Ethier's season is over, due to expected knee surgery. You never like hearing the words "Dr. James Andrews" involved in any injury, and this one is no different.
• The White Sox will be without utility player Brent Lillibridge after he was hit by a pitch on his right hand.
• Chase Utley is expected to miss the series this weekend due to a concussion suffered earlier in the week. No word on when he will return to the lineup.

Returning from the Disabled List

• The big return yesterday was the activation of Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg pitched well on Tuesday night, going 5 innings and allowing just 2 hits.
• The Indians' activated OF Trevor Crowe from the 60-day disabled list, and designated for assignment Jerod Head to make room on the 40-man roster. The team also activated 2B Jason Kipnis from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, and OF Grady Sizemore on Monday.
• The Pirates activated RHP Evan Meek from the 60-day disabled list.
• The Astros activated LHP Sergio Escalona from the 15-day disabled list.
• The Angels activated RHP Garrett Richards from the 15-day disabled list.
• The Yankees activated SS Ramiro Pena from the 15-day disabled list.
• The Orioles activated 1B/3B Chris Davis from the 15-day disabled list.
• The Cardinals activated 2B Nick Punto from the 15-day disabled list.
• The Marlins activated RHP Brian Sanches from the 15-day disabled list. The team also activated C John Baker and 3B Donnie Murphy from the 60-day disabled list.
• The Blue Jays activated RHP Dustin McGowan from the 60-day disabled list.

Newly Hurt, but Not On the Disabled List

• Jose Tabata will miss time with a fracture in his left hand, but it doesn't appear that he will be placed on the disabled list due to the roster expansions.
• It appears that Josh Beckett will be out until next week some time at least, as he will miss his next scheduled start.
• Brennan Boesch is expected to miss the remainder of the season with an injured right thumb.
• Marlins' OF Mike Cameron left Tuesday's game with a hamstring injury.

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With the expansion of the rosters yesterday, we're likely to see less players moved onto the disabled list. But there's still a lot of injury news to cover. Many of the activations done on Thursday were made due to this roster expansion. Unless otherwise noted, all moves found were found on MLB.COM's transaction page.

Returning Players

• The Red Sox will activate Kevin Youkilis from the disabled list today.
• The Tigers activated 2B Carlos Guillen from the disabled list.
• The Rangers activated 3B Adrian Beltre, and also IF Andres Blanco.
• The Reds activated OF Chris Heisey on Thursday, and he promptly hit a 3-run, pinch-hit homerun in the game yesterday.
• The Diamondbacks brought back IF Geoff Blum and LHP Alberto Castillo.
• The Dodgers activated rookie SS Dee Gordon.
• The Blue Jays activated closer Jon Rauch.
• The Brewers activated OF Carlos Gomez.
• The Astros activated RHP Enerio del Rosario.
• The Mariners activated C Chris Gimenez from the 60-day DL.
• The Rays activated OF Justin Ruggiano.
• The Nationals activated P Doug Slaten.

Newly Hurt, but Not Headed to the Disabled List

• Mark Teixeira left Thursday's game with a bruised knee.
• Nationals' OF Laynce Nix left the game on Thursday with a strained groin.
• Mets' C Josh Thole was hit in the hand by a pitch, and left the game as a result.
• Angels' IF Maicer Izturis left the game with a right thigh contusion.

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Returning Players

• The Rockies activated the newly acquired Alex White to make the start on Tuesday. Edmer Escalona was placed on the disabled list to make room.
• The Giants activated OF Carlos Beltran prior to Tuesday's game, and placed LHP Jonathan Sanchez on the DL to clear the spot.
• The Reds activated RHP Jared Burton from the 60-day disabled list, but then optioned him to the minors.

Newly Hurt, But Not Headed to the Disabled List Yet

• The scariest injury news last night was probably Adam Jones. Jones was released from the hospital this morning after being sent to the hospital with shortness of breath and chest pains during yesterday's game. He sounds like he should be fine going forward, but it's worth monitoring.
• Alex Rodriguez did not play on Tuesday night due to a jammed thumb.
• Justin Upton left yesterday's game after being hit in the elbow by a Jordan Zimmermann pitch.

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Returning Players

• Alex Rodriguez returned from the disabled list on Sunday. The team optioned Aaron Laffey to the minors to clear a roster spot for A-Rod.
• Brewers' RHP Chris Narveson was activated from the disabled list for Monday's game, and INF Felipe Lopez was designated for assignment as a result.
• Orioles LHP Zach Britton is scheduled to start for the team tonight, and will need to be activated from the disabled list. No word yet on what the roster move will be to match.
• Padres' reliever Ernesto Frieri was activated on Sunday from the 15-day DL, with reliever Pat Neshek being designated for assignment.

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Pablo Sandoval has left the San Francisco Giants game against the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the first inning after hitting a foul ball off of the top of his foot. He fell to the ground immediately after the swing and stayed down for a few minutes. He was able to shake it off and finish the plate appearance, which ended after he reached base on a throwing error by Martin Prado.

Sandoval limped off the field after the inning and was replaced by Mike Fontenot. Sandoval missed 41 games earlier in the season with injury to his hamate bone, but has been enjoying a type of resurgence after a horrendous year last year, when he batted .268 with a .323 on-base percentage. In 2009, the Kung Fu Panda broke out with a .330 average and a .387 OBP. In 2011, his stats are somewhere in between 2009 and 2010, as he currently possesses a .310 batting average and .353 OBP.

There have been no updates on his condition yet, but they will be posted as we hear them.

Cesar Izturis to 15-Day DL

Baltimore infielder Cesar Izturis has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Taking Izturis' place on the roster is reliever Jason Berken, recalled out of AAA Norfolk.

This has to be frustrating for both Izturis and the team, as Izturis only just came off the post-elbow surgery DL last week and had barely played two games before straining his groin. In 18 games on the season, Izturis is hitting .200 / .250 / .450 with 6 hits and 4 runs.

Jason Berken is 1-2 for Baltimore this year, with 37.1 innings pitched and a 6.27 ERA. Zrebiec notes that Berken has seen some improvement in Norfolk, where the righty has earned a 3.50 ERA in 4 starts.

Placido Polanco Has Sports Hernia, May Require Surgery

Thirty-five year old Placido Polanco has a chronic sports hernia according to the MRI he had today and may require surgery, reports Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. This follows an early exit on Saturday's Phillies-Giants game due to a sore hip and could mean a 3 week or greater absence, assuming an injection will carry him through the end of the season.

Ruben Amaro Jr. has stated that the Phillies will not look for outside help and will instead use Michael Martinez and Wilson Valdez for the remainder of the season. Polanco's .275 / .330 / .342 line will be missed, as Martinez's .265 OBP and Valdez .284 OBP make it all but certain that Philly will see an overall downgrade without Polanco.