Tigers place Michael Fulmer on 10-day disabled list with oblique strain

The Detroit Tigers placed Michael Fulmer on the 10-day disabled list with an oblique strain on Friday afternoon. To replace Fulmer on the 25-man roster, the Tigers recalled right-handed reliever Victor Alcantara from Triple-A Toledo. There was no sign of injury after Fulmer’s last outing on July 15 against the Astros.

According to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, Fulmer injured the oblique in a bullpen session on Friday.

Fulmer has recently been the topic of trade talks, with several teams expressing interest in the young righthander. He hasn’t enjoyed his best season, but has rebounded lately from a rough month of May. From June 1 to July 8, Fulmer posted a 3.47 ERA in seven starts with 39 strikeouts to 12 walks. He struggled mightily in his last start, however, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in just 4 ²⁄₃ innings against the Houston Astros.

The move basically kills off any chance of trading Fulmer for a high quality package before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Perhaps that’s for the best. Fulmer’s mediocre numbers, and the fact that he is club controlled until the 2023 season — when he will turn 30 years old — made it hard enough to envision a full value return for the big righthander. If all goes well, Fulmer may yet get another start in before the deadline, but it’s very difficult to imagine one healthy outing altering teams’ evaluations and trade offers. Instead, Fulmer will likely remain a Tiger, at least for the time being.