Tigers send Casey Mize to the 10-day IL with an elbow sprain

The news is not good. While fans spent much of the day wondering when Javier Báez and Robbie Grossman would return to action, baseball had something else brewing. The Detroit Tigers placed starter Casey Mize on the 10-day injured list Friday evening with a right elbow sprain.

Mize put together a decent outing against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, but it didn’t look good below the surface. The young right-hander only struck out two hitters and didn’t look sharp at all. He managed to avoid big damage, ultimately tossing five innings of two run ball, but it was a performance that drew more concern than anything. However, there were certainly no concerns than an injury was in play. So far, a sprain is the diagnosis, but Mize is undergoing further testing to determine the best course of action.

In a corresponding move, the Tigers have promoted outfielder Daz Cameron from Triple-A Toledo. Cameron travelled with the club to Kansas City in case he would be needed to take over corner outfielder Robbie Grossman’s spot. Now he’s on the roster, and the Tigers will have five days until Mize’s next scheduled start to find his replacement.

There are some options. Veteran right-handers Michael Pineda and Wily Peralta have been building up after missing spring camp to lockout delayed visa issues. Neither have thrown many innings in an outing, but either could probably make a short start without accelerating their progression too aggressively. Pineda was expected to take over the rotation spot currently occupied by Tyler Alexander, but the lefty seems likely to stick in the rotation for the time being, while Pineda and/or Wily Peralta fill in for Mize.

There was quite a bit of other injury news on Friday. Derek Hill has been assigned to Low-A Lakeland for a rehab assignment, and is expected to be ready shortly.

Robbie Grossman remains day-to-day, but manager AJ Hinch was optimistic on Friday afternoon. It sound like Grossman could even be available Friday night against the Royals, but either way should be ready sometime this weekend.

Finally, shortstop Javier Báez displayed a swollen right thumb to reporters and revealed that it was initially jammed during the celebration of his walkoff single on Opening Day. Playing through it, he then jammed it again, the swelling intensified, and the Tigers needed to let it heal up somewhat to avoid a prolonged issue that affects him for weeks.