Detroit — Tigers starting pitcher Matt Manning’s road to return has hit an unexpected detour.
According to manager AJ Hinch, Manning admitted Thursday he experienced soreness after Tuesday’s rehab start with Toledo and reported biceps tendinitis. As a result, Hinch said Manning will not throw for the “foreseeable future” as he undergoes further evaluation.
“Matt is in a tough spot. He came clean today that he’s not feeling great,” Hinch said. “He’s got some bicep tendinitis that he said started bothering him after his second outing. He didn’t report it.
“Today he came clean that he’s pretty sore in the front of his shoulder, which indicates tendinitis.”
The hope was Manning, who has been on the injured list since April 17 with shoulder inflammation, would make his final rehab start with the Mud Hens and return to the Tigers for his next turn in the rotation.
However, Manning failed to get through two innings on Tuesday and was pulled after the organization’s 30-pitch rule was applied in the second inning. Hinch noted the team didn’t know Manning was dealing with anything arm-related when he left that start and the Mud Hens didn’t indicate he was pulled for any sort of injury.
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“Listen, I think these guys generally want to believe that they’re good. We went through this with Casey (Mize) a little bit,” Hinch said. “These guys pitch through to a lot of different things throughout the year. What’s sore and what’s an injury?
“I don’t really blame Matt. I know he was trying to get himself back. He felt a lot of pressure to come back and pitch for us as quickly as possible. He’s watching the same thing you are, which is a rotation deteriorate from a health standpoint. …Luckily for us, he didn’t continue to try to do anything more.”
Manning said he started to feel like he was having a setback with his shoulder heading into his third rehab start and tried to push through it. But once the production and quality of his starts wasn’t meeting the mark, he realized it was time to say something.
“Not being here to support these guys through the ups and downs, that kills me,” Manning said after Thursday’s 4-3 win over the Guardians. “For me personally, I want to fight through anything I can. If my arm is attached, I want to throw. But I gotta look long term and I gotta be productive here. If I can’t do that then there’s no point.”
Manning’s setback is merely the latest bad news for a starting rotation that seemingly can’t catch a break. The Tigers are already without four of their five starters from the Opening Day roster, with Tyler Alexander (elbow sprain), Casey Mize (elbow sprain), Michael Pineda (broken finger) and Eduardo Rodriguez (side injury) all on the mend.
Seeing all the other starters go down, Manning said, added to the pressure of him trying to get back as soon as possible.
“I looked at it like an open spot that I was the closest one and needed to fill it,” he said. “When you see stuff like that, I just want to help in any way I can.
“The reality is it probably wasn’t best for me and the team to come back if I’m not 100%.”
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When it comes to the injured starters, Hinch said Alexander threw two innings to hitters in Lakeland, Florida, and is on track to make a rehab start for Toledo on Monday. Meanwhile, Rodriguez reported no symptoms after playing catch before Thursday’s game, and the Tigers hope to begin a throwing program for Mize this weekend or early next week.
The plan for Manning, though, is to get a second opinion from another doctor and not throw for a bit.
“We need as many arms to come back as we can, but we need them back healthy. I’m glad he came clean today and let us know how sore he was so we can get him evaluated,” Hinch said. “It’s tough because we need healthy arms and we don’t want to do anything that’s going to jeopardize anything longer than we have to.”
In need of a spark
How do the Tigers get the bats going? It’s a question they’re still searching for an answer to two months into the season.
The way Hinch sees it, all the team needs is one guy to provide a spark that will spread.
“I wouldn’t even say bats plural. I would just say a bat,” Hinch said on 97.1 The Ticket. “We’ve got to keep getting one guy hotter than he was yesterday. It’s a collective thing. Yes, we need a bunch of guys to get better, but we need one guy to get hot.
“Jonathan (Schoop) started doing that a little bit in Minnesota. Hopefully (Jeimer Candelario) — I always think this is going to be the one swing that gets Candy going. This is a guy that tied for the lead in doubles. And right now, it didn’t feel like he’s gotten a lot of confidence up to bat. Maybe the homer to center in Minnesota (on Wednesday) to win a game can spark him. Obviously, we’ve got to get Robbie Grossman back going. He’s not going to hit under .200 this year. But if we can focus on one guy, and then get one guy and then get another guy and you look up and four or five of your guys are swinging the bat well, then you can put a collective offense together.”
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Heading into Thursday’s game, the Tigers rank near the bottom of the league in batting average (.219; 27th), on-base percentage (.283; 29th) and slugging percentage (.319; 30th). Their 118 runs scored ranks dead last and is 28 fewer than the next closest team, the Pirates. They also have hit the fewest home runs in the majors with 25 (for comparison, Yankees’ Aaron Judge leads the league with 17).
On top of that, the Tigers are chasing 31.1% of pitches (league average is 28.4%) and have a hard-hit rate of 34.1% (league average is 38.9%), per Statcast.
“You’ve got to find an aggressiveness in order to get going,” Hinch said. “It’s very individual. … At the end of the day, you’ve got to get a good pitch to hit and put your ‘A’ swing on it. If we get our ‘A’ swing, like your best swing, your max swing off, then you’re going to have a better chance for better results.”
Around the horn
Hinch said Austin Meadows (vertigo) has returned to physical activity and worked out in Lakeland the past three days. He hit off the high-velo machine and ran on the field Thursday.
“That’s a good sign,” Hinch said. “That’s the most activity he’s done with no symptoms to date.”
… Joey Wentz left Wednesday’s start for Toledo after being hit in the shin on a comebacker. X-rays were negative and showed no damage. Hinch said Wentz is a candidate to start for the Tigers as their 27th man for Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Twins.
… Reliever Will Vest has tested out of COVID-19 protocol. He’s set to make one or two rehab appearances in Toledo before rejoining the team.
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @jamesbhawkins
Guardians at Tigers
First pitch: 7:10 p.m. Friday, Comerica Park, Detroit
TV/radio: BSD/97.1
SCOUTING REPORT
RHP Shane Bieber (1-3, 3.55), Guardians: The former Cy Young winner hasn’t had the best of months in May. Over his last three starts, he’s posted a 5.51 ERA, allowed 21 hits and 10 earned runs in 16.1 innings, and opponents are batting .309 against him. Over that same span, he’s issued eight walks with 17 strikeouts, 10 of those coming in last week’s losing effort to the Tigers.
RHP Alex Faedo (1-1, 3.00), Tigers: The rookie is coming off his first major league win and is making his fifth consecutive start since being summoned into the rotation. Simply put, Faedo has been solid and has given the Tigers a chance when he’s toed the rubber, giving up no more than two runs and going at least five innings in each outing.