Detroit — Another day another injury.
It’s become a catch phrase for the Tigers. Sardonic humor. Laugh to keep from crying. The reality is, though, it’s a source of great frustration throughout the organization, largely because there seems to be no rhyme or reason for why it is happening.
“This is just one man’s opinion,” manager AJ Hinch said. “But I think it’s cumulative from the pandemic year (2020) to the lockout to the shortened spring to some of the physical toll that’s come. That’s got to contribute at some level but I don’t know how much.”
That there is seemingly no common thread to all the injuries makes it harder to find a root. There’s no Ground Zero.
“Our stuff is so random,” Hinch said. “They are all different. I’d probably feel better about assessing all of this if it was one issue. It’s forearms, elbows, shoulders, hamstrings, soft tissue stuff. We can assess all that when there is a common theme.
“But other than being an active player on our team, that’s the only commonality amongst this.”
Rookie Joey Wentz was the latest to leave the field injured. He was pulled after five pitches in the fifth inning in Game 2 Tuesday with what the Tigers called a shoulder strain.
Since Wentz was up as the 27th man for the doubleheader, he was still technically a minor-league player. He was optioned back to Triple-A Toledo after the game and will undergo tests in the next couple of days.
If a stint on the injured list is warranted, it will be Toledo’s IL, not Detroit’s. Salt in the wound for Wentz, who would’ve accrued big-league service time if he was on the Tigers’ IL.
“That was something that was bargained for in the collective bargaining agreement,” Hinch said. “When somebody comes up for the 27th man, he’s not deemed injured here.”
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Crazy. Nevertheless, Wentz was the third Tigers player to leave a game early in the last week.
Pitcher Elvin Rodriguez cramped up and had to leave his start Wednesday. He did not need to go on the injured list. Outfielder Robbie Grossman left that game in the first inning with neck spasms. He did go on the injured list.
Twelve players are presently on the IL, eight pitchers, with an assortment of ailments. Tyler Alexander and Casey Mize have elbow issues. Kyle Funkhouser, Jose Cisnero and Matt Manning have shoulder issues. Austin Meadows had vertigo. Victor Reyes hurt his right quad, rehabbed it, came back and hurt his left quad.
Michael Pineda had his finger broken by a line drive. Tarik Skubal had to come out of a start early after being drilled with a line drive in the shin. Eduardo Rodriguez sprained something in his rib cage. Spencer Turnbull and Jake Rogers are rehabbing after Tommy John surgeries.
It’s a Baskin and Robbins’ assortment of injuries.
“It’s frustrating,” Hinch said. “We’re looking into a lot of different things but it’s case by case. There is no link that leads us to any conclusion.”
Every team in baseball is or has dealt with more injuries than before the pandemic. It was a topic during the lockout, with some in baseball pushing for another two weeks of spring training. In the end, it was agreed to shoehorn the full 162-game schedule despite the initial cancellation of the first week of the season.
Teams gave up off days and are playing more doubleheaders.
“In spring training, if you talked to all 30 managers, we were all worried about injuries and having depth (on the roster) and the challenge of the shortened spring into the season,” Hinch said. “That doesn’t go away. This is an accumulation sport. We carry stuff for a long time.
“You’re going to get shoulder soreness. It doesn’t just go away with a day off. It rears it’s ugly head throughout the course of the season. It can be maddening.”
Player’s view
Michael Fulmer lost two years of his career to knee and elbow surgeries. He knows the difference between pain and injury. That line these days, he said, is thinner than ever.
“That’s something I learned a long time ago,” he said. “If you are feeling anything it could turn into something a lot bigger. I learned that the hard away. You just have to worry about you and stay on top of everything, whatever it is.”
Fulmer is as perplexed as everybody else about the rash of injuries.
“I don’t have an answer,” he said. “It’s tough. It really is. I don’t know what to attribute it to. Injuries are up across the league since 2020. But at what point does everything go back to normal? At what point can you stop blaming the COVID year or the shortened spring training? How long can you keep blaming that?
“All this year? Next year? I don’t have the answer for you. I wish I did.”
The irony of it is, the Tigers have poured millions of dollars into player development and the training staff, into sports science, nutrition, into physical therapy, strength and conditioning, mental and emotional care.
“The training staff here, the strength and conditioning coaches we have, they are all great,” Fulmer said. “Everybody that is here is knowledgeable. They ask you to come in if you are dealing with anything. They want to take care of you. They want to help you and they know how to help you.
“That is not the problem.”
The Tigers have fully upgraded their training and weight room facilities throughout the organization, especially in Lakeland and at Comerica Park. Every player has a bio-mechanic profile done in spring training and their movements are monitored and measured continually to look for signs of physical stress or injury.
Every player has a pre-game and post-game routine tailored to their body and their needs. Pitchers can get Trackman data every day if they want, which can detect any changes in range of motion or flexibility.
“Who knows why these injuries are happening,” Fulmer said. “But it’s not about our preparation or anything like that. There’s not a single guy in this clubhouse that doesn’t take his job seriously or put in the work and the effort to stay healthy.”
Maybe catcher Tucker Barnhart was right when he said Tuesday night, “There seems to be a little bit of a curse on our mound.”
Around the horn
…Javier Báez was not in the starting lineup Wednesday. It was a planned day off for him after he played all 18 innings of the doubleheader Tuesday. “I talked to him about the doubleheader, to get his feel for playing 18 innings and taking the next day off, or not playing Game 2 and playing him tonight,” Hinch said. “He and I both agreed a day off would be better for him.”
…The Tigers transferred Casey Mize to the 60-day IL Tuesday. The move cleared up a spot on the 40-man roster to activate reliever Will Vest off the COVID-IL, but it had no real bearing on Mize’s timetable. As Hinch explained, the 60 days will be up on June 14 and Mize isn’t expected to be ready to return by then.
…Daz Cameron is now 9 for 9 in stolen base attempts after swiping second base in Game 2 Tuesday. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is the second Tigers player since 1920 to start his career with at least nine straight stolen bases. The other was Hub Walker, who swiped 10 straight to start his career in 1931.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter@cmccosky
Twins at Tigers
When: 1:10 p.m., Thursday, Comerica Park
TV/radio: BSD/MLB/97.1
Scouting report
RHP Chris Archer (0-2, 4.19), Twins: The Twins are still limiting his workload. He hasn’t pitched more than 4.1 innings or thrown more than 80 pitches in any of his nine outings this season. Coming off thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in 2020, he pitched in just six games last year. He limited the Tigers to a run on three hits in four innings on May 23.
RHP Alex Faedo (1-2, 3.00), Tigers: He’s allowed two runs or less in all five of his big-league starts to this point. He’s the first pitcher in baseball to achieve that since Steven Matz in 2015. Against his secondary pitches (slider and change-up) hitters are 13 for 68 (.191) with just two extra-base hits.