McKinstry placed on IL; Tigers call up No. 6 prospect Lee
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BOSTON -- Prior to the start of a four-game series at Fenway Park on Friday, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch announced that the team had placed infielder Zach McKinstry on the 10-day IL, retroactive to April 16.
The Detroit third baseman had an eventful night in Kansas City on Wednesday, getting bruised up initially on a headfirst slide at home and then later in a collision with Jac Caglianone in the seventh inning on a play at third base.
“We have put Zach McKinstry on the injured list with the left hip abdominal inflammation,” Hinch said. “[He] had multiple collisions the other day; one on the hard slide and the other with Caglianone at third base.”
Hinch noted that McKinstry felt better on Friday than he did the day prior and that they “hope to get him back quickly.” However, there are still some additional evaluations necessary to determine when McKinstry, who was hitting .209 in 14 games this year, might be able to resume baseball activities.
“At this point we'll see how he feels,” noted the manager. “I think there's a pending medical evaluation … he's doing better than yesterday which is a good sign. But now we have a definitive timeline where he can't do anything in terms of game activity. Hopefully this is on the shorter end and we’ll solve this quickly.”
To replace McKinstry on the roster, Detroit recalled infielder Hao-Yu Lee, the club’s No. 6 prospect, who will make his Major League debut in Friday night’s matchup against the Red Sox, batting eighth and playing third base.
The right-handed batter, who has a .791 OPS across six seasons in the Minors, is expected to get ample opportunities while up with the big league club.
“We're excited for Lee to get his feet wet in the big leagues,” said Hinch. “We've had him in camp the last couple of seasons. … He can play good defense; he's a good baseball player. Now he's getting his first look at one of the cathedrals in our sport in Fenway to debut. Being right-handed and given our schedule -- I think six of the next 12 games are going to be against lefties -- he's likely to be in and around those games.”