The All-Star Game is nearly a month away and Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch hinted that two of his top starting pitchers may not return until the second half of the season.
Spencer Turnbull and Matthew Boyd are on the 10-day injured list and neither one has begun throwing again. Turnbull was placed on the IL on June 5 with a right forearm strain; Boyd joined him on Tuesday after departing his outing in Kansas City on Monday after 2⅓ innings due to left arm discomfort.
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Turnbull is currently in Lakeland but has yet to begin a throwing program.
Boyd will undergo an evaluation from Dr. Neil ElAttrache during the team’s trip in Los Angeles. ElAttrache is an orthopedic consultant with the Angels, among other sports teams. He is the doctor that performed the shoulder surgery on Tigers prospect Franklin Perez last month.
“We don’t know where we’re at getting into the All-Star break,” Hinch said. “That’s the big question now, is to how far are we going to push these guys before the All-Star break versus utilizing the time and targeting things after the All-Star break. That’s the assessment being done over the next couple of weeks on how to ramp these guys up with their throwing.”
Without those arms, Hinch has been forced to improvise. Matt Manning was elevated from Triple-A Toledo to make his major league debut on Thursday. Hinch has also employed a number of “bullpen” days. They’ll have another this weekend, as Wily Peralta will start Saturday’s game against the Angels.
Schoop unfazed by trade chatter
The trade deadline comes at the end of next month and Jonathan Schoop might be a hot commodity if he continues to hit the way he has over the past month.
Schoop has hit safely in 19 of the past 23 games, batting .374 with six doubles, eight homers and 18 RBIs during that span. His batting average bottomed out at .180 on May 8. He had lifted it to .272 entering Thursday’s game.
“You can’t control those things,” he said. “I’m trying to show up and do what I’m supposed to do and help the team win. I’m not thinking about those things.”
Schoop has an expiring $4.5 million contract, which could make him even more attractive on the market. But he’s not eager to join a contender.
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“This is my second year with the Tigers. I feel like we have really good things going on,” he said. “I feel we have really good things moving forward. The young guys are progressing.”
Schoop has been moved up to the No. 2 slot in the batting order behind Robbie Grossman and in front of Jeimer Candelario.
“When Schoop gets going the way he has for the last month,” Hinch said, “I want to get him as many at-bats as I can.”
Bullpen coming together
Hinch has been forced to rely heavily on the bullpen but he likes his options at the back end. Gregory Soto, Michael Fulmer and Jose Cisnero have all closed games and Kyle Funkhouser has also moved into the mix. Fulmer was activated off the IL earlier this week.
“It is nice to have some weapons at the back end and feel if we have the lead as we enter the middle to latter part of the game, I have a lot of confidence in them,” Hinch said.
Urena fresh for Friday’s start
“He couldn’t find the strike zone with any level of consistency and when he did find the strike zone, they hit him around the ballpark,” Hinch said. “Obviously, he has to bounce back from that. He gets an extra day’s rest off of a short outing, so he should be rarin’ to go tomorrow.”