DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers will be without Jose Iglesias for the next two weeks. A CT scan was conducted on Friday prior to the game and he has a non-displaced small bone chip fracture in his right middle finger at the PIP joint -- the middle joint on a finger. He'll be re-evaluated again after two weeks time.
This does not include rehab time. There is a month of baseball left for the Tigers' season. With rehab and no additional setbacks, that would put Iglesias' return to the team very close to the end of the year. Shortstop Dixon Machado will get the majority of the playing time, with Andrew Romine subbing in on occasion.
Iglesias' injury occurred at Kansas City during an at-bat in the top of the third inning against the Royals. During a bunt attempt, a 95 mph sinker struck Iglesias' right finger and sent him tumbling in obvious pain. He never made it to first base and wound up on a crumpled heap holding his hand while head athletic trainer Kevin Rand attended to him.
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus immediately called for a replacement and Andrew Romine filled in, striking out to end the frame. After the game Ausmus said when he first saw Iglesias' finger it was purple, though after the game it appeared to be fine. At the time Iglesias was diagnosed with a contusion of the right middle finger, with further tests to be done.
On Friday, Iglesias said the finger was actually hurting worse than the night of the injury and was worried it was broken. The finger was still quite swollen and he clearly couldn't bend or move it in any way. He wouldn't attempt at an estimate of how long he'd be out, but both he and Ausmus didn't appear hopeful for something quick at the time.
With Iglesias sidelined for the next two weeks -- and longer if further rehab is needed -- the Tigers are lucky that they have Machado to fill in. Already, the shortstop was showing off on several occasions on Friday night, including an impressive line catch in the sixth that robbed Jason Kipnis of a hit.
Before the game, Machado had said he was hoping he'd be able to get more playing time his second time around in Detroit. Time spent in Toledo over the Double-A level has upped his defensive and offensive game, he said, and hoped to prove what he could bring to a major league team. He got his wish, it just took an injury to get there.