Tigers place Kyle Lobstein on 15-day disabled list with left shoulder soreness

DETROIT -- Sunday morning the Detroit Tigers announced they had placed LHP Kyle Lobstein on the 15-day disabled list for soreness in his left shoulder. They will recall RHP Buck Farmer from Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday. Also, shortstop Dixon Machado has been called up for additional infield support.

Lobstein went to have an MRI on his shoulder on Sunday for soreness that has been bothering him "on and off" for some time, according to Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski. Lobstein hadn't complained of any pain, but the soreness persisted after starts, hence the MRI.

"He had complained of shoulder soreness here and there, nothing major," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "In the back of my mind I thought something might be wrong. His velocity has been down almost all year. Jonesy (pitching coach Jeff Jones) and I talked to him this morning and (Lobstein) said that his shoulder bothered him a little bit during the winter.

"He started throwing and that it went away in spring training for a few weeks and then came back. I don't know if it was toward the end of spring training or the start of the season, but he admitted that it hasn't been right."

After Sunday's game Ausmus didn't have the results yet, but Lobstein confirmed that it was nothing more than inflammation, which, given the possibilities, is a relief. Lobstein stated after the game Saturday night that he hadn't felt the greatest warming up, and after talking to Lobstein, Ausmus said that it's just soreness that doesn't seem to want to go away.

"Yeah, just inflammation in my shoulder," Lobstein said of the soreness, located in the back of his shoulder. "It's a relatively good prognosis for feeling discomfort in my shoulder. At this point, just trying to get the inflammation out. When you're going into a situation like that, where there's uncertainty, it's definitely going to make you a little nervous. But the overall prognosis at this point is good. It gives me a little bit of peace of mind knowing it's something we can take care of relatively quickly and easily."

The expectation is that Lobstein's stint on the DL shouldn't last more than 15 days, according to Lobstein, but that hasn't been confirmed by Ausmus or the Tigers yet. Until the inflammation has dissipated and Lobstein receives the green light, obviously he'll remain on the DL. As for Saturday's outing, Lobstein's command and feel for his pitches were what was out of whack, according to Lobstein.

"No one likes being on the shelf, especially right now I feel like I've been working on some stuff and these last two starts felt like it was getting the ball rolling a little bit," Lobstein admitted. "I was wanting to have some consistency these next few starts, and obviously that puts a little bit of a hold on it. But at the same time, I'd rather be pitching healthy and feel strong than going out there not really knowing how I'm going to feel that day."

Farmer, 24, is 5-1 to start the season for the Mud Hens. The Tigers will need to make an additional move to get Farmer on the roster, but the team has not made a determination as to what move they will make yet. Farmer will make Lobstein's start on Thursday in Anaheim for the four-game series opener against the Angels.

Machado, 23, will be making the trip with the Tigers as they travel west to face the Oakland Athletics and then the Angels. Defensively, Machado has been impressive but questions had remained about his bat. But his hot start this season, as well as his progression last year, have shown that he is ready for major league experience, according to the team.

None of the moves will affect utility player Hernan Perez's place on the team, according to Ausmus. Jose Iglesias, currently sidelined with left knee soreness, went for an x-ray and an MRI Sunday morning, and the results showed swelling but no structural damage. He is day-to-day and Ausmus he hasn't determined whether Iglesias will have more than a day off, but putting Machado on the roster gives the team more flexibility.

"With Iglesias (shortstop Jose Iglesias) being down a day or two we figured what would probably benefit us the most is just to have an extra infielder available," Dombrowski said. "He's done very well for us and well deserving of a promotion at this time. He's played well in Triple-A.

"Machado's not going to sit on the bench for an extended period, that's not his situation. Machado, he needs to play at this point of his career. But we're talking about a couple days situation."