The news coming out on left-handed reliever Bobby Seay today sounds like quite a set back.
First the Detroit News' Tom Gage reported on Twitter Seay was set to have an MRI, then MLB.com's Jason Beck added to the story.
Seay was shut down after further pain in his shoulder during a bullpen session. He will have an MRI in the next few days and have several specialists check it out. Manager Jim Leyland confirmed Seay will start the season on the DL.
Beck:
Seay was originally diagnosed with bursitis in his upper left arm and tendinitis in the shoulder. He had started throwing last week and began throwing off a mound earlier in the week. His latest attempt, though, stopped before it started.
"Throwing in the bullpen today, I couldn't get my arm in a throwing position," Seay said.
If the Tigers are set on taking three lefties north, Brad Thomas and Daniel Schlereth are the possible beneficiaries. Neither has earned the job all that well. Thomas has had some nice results, but five walks in seven innings is a concern, and a manager who complains about pitchers not attacking the strike zone may not want to take him. Schlereth has just plain struggled in games.
I still like Robbie Weinhardt to give an extra right-handed boost, but the Tigers might want him to close in Triple-A Toledo first, so we'll see.
Update:
Just to couple the injury news together, here's more on Zach Miner, from MLive's Steve Kornacki. Zach Miner is reported to have muscle and ligament strain around his elbow. Apparently it's been bothering him for awhile but he didn't bother mentioning it to anyone. Would someone in the Tigers organization please start slapping these guys upside the head? I'm sick of writing about players hurting themselves by not reporting how they feel to the people who know how to deal with it.
“I will be back as quick as possible,” Miner said. “I hope that’s opening day. But if not, I won’t be very far behind.”