Tigers' Shane Greene lands on Mud Hens' 7-day disabled list

Shane Greene's 2015 season hasn't been going so well. On Tuesday the right hander was placed on the seven-day disabled list and is meeting with a doctor for numbness in his fingers, according to John Wagner of the Toledo Blade. Greene will miss at least one start. Initial tests later determined that there is a "nerve injury" and additional tests will be done. Nothing beyond that is known yet.

Catcher Bryan Holaday has also been placed on the seven-day DL after dislocating his left thumb in Monday night's game at a play at the plate. Holaday's season with Toledo is over, though there's a possibility he could join the Detroit Tigers when their rosters expand. Catcher Miguel Gonzalez and right-handed pitcher Alberto Cabrera have been called up from the Detroit Tigers' Double-A affiliate to replace both injured players.

On May 15 Greene was pulled from his start against the Cardinals after the fifth inning and 74 pitches. The Tigers later stated he had mild ulnar neuritis-- numbness in his fingers -- and on May 16 he was sent for an MRI. Greene did not miss his next start and returned to the lineup on May 20 -- his last quality start that resulted in a win.

On June 12, Greene was optioned to Toledo. While he would come back to Detroit for the time listed above, he was relegated to the bullpen after three starts and sent back down to Toledo soon after. Since being sent down to Toledo for the second time, Greene has given up five runs on eight hits across 8 2/3 innings of work. He's struck out just four batters in that time.

The first time Greene made the trip to the Mud Hens, he made five starts before being called back up to Detroit. In that time frame, Greene had just two starts of six innings or more with less than two runs allowed per start. Two of his other starts were less than promising (4 IP, 7 H, 4 R/ER, HR, BB, 2 SO and 6 IP, 11 H, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 SO).

While Greene was with the Tigers from July 12-30, he had three straight starts of five or more runs allowed. His one relief appearance was an inning and he gave up three runs on three hits. His ERA during that time was a whopping 12.27 and he struck out just six batters with four home runs allowed in four outings.

After his stellar start to the 2015 season, it was almost expected that Greene would dominate the league in every way possible. Premature assumptions that Greene would be in the running for the 2015 AL Cy Young Award were not hard to find. Until it all came crashing down.

Since starting the season 3-0 with two runs allowed (one earned) and back-to-back eight-inning starts, the Tigers have won just three of Greene's last 13 starts. Only one of those three wins resulted in a quality start for Greene -- he went 6 1/3 innings, allowed two runs on three hits. His ERA is now 6.88 for the season, and it sits at 9.35 since three straight solid starts.